Avatar: Legend of Katara
by Kelev
Summary: The Avatar State was not enough to support Aang indefinitely. As the Avatar Spirit moves on, Aang is informed of the state of the world and given a task: teach the newest incarnation airbending in return for a second chance at life. A slightly darker, grittier rewrite of the series as Avatar Katara comes into her own on her quest to defeat the Fire Nation. Eventual canon pairings.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: Of all the AU ideas I've seen floating around, one of the most intriguing of them all has to be the idea of Aang dying too soon, and the Avatar Spirit passing onto Katara. There are only a few, and almost all of them have romance (Zutara in particular) as the main plot. I got a little frustrated... this idea has so much potential to be something great, a total rewrite of the series that could go in just about any direction! We could see more cultural things, more spirit world shenanigans, more character development as the story we know and love changes into something that could be just as great but altogether different! So without further ado, here's my take on an already preexisting idea. Enjoy, and Review!

**Prologue**

Aang had never been in so much trouble in his life.

Granted, the above statement was a bit off because he was _dead_, and no longer living, but it still didn't change the fact that he knew he was in serious trouble.

_Scratch that, _Aang thought nervously, looking up meekly at the mass of people surrounding him, all wearing the most grave expressions, _I'm in the most trouble I've ever been _because _I'm dead. _

How he was even here (wherever _here_ was... the Spirit World, perhaps? It must be, since he had yet to see a misty plain filled with slightly glowing people on earth) was still a bit of a mystery to the young boy. He had been running away, last he remembered; the freezing rain lashing at his skin in the fury of the storm he had foolishly flown into, the lightning and sharp cracks of thunder throwing Appa into a frenzy as they tried to fly through the tempest, and finally the breath stealing cold of the ocean as they were thrown in. He fuzzily recalled doing something that he had never done before in the panic he felt, doing something distinctly _Avatar_ with a combination of water and airbending... then... nothing. He assumed that he must have died in the storm, though somehow he knew he had not drowned at sea.

However he got here he'd have to find out later. For now, the surrounding multicultural crowd of glowing people was first and foremost on his list of concerns. Glancing up at the imposing bearded man closest to him, he managed a weak (if confused) smile. "Um... hello?"

The regal looking Fire Nation man seemed to be one of only a handful who appeared to be elderly- most of the others appeared to be somewhere in their late twenties at the youngest to late forties at their oldest. Curiously only two others were children like himself, though they too wore the same serious expression as the elder Aang had addressed. The man uttered a sad sigh, inclining his head in a slight bow. "Avatar Aang," he intoned gravely, startling the boy with the use of the honorific title, "I'm afraid we have much to discuss."


	2. Divergence (part one)

**Author's Note: **In the future, all notes will be at the end of the chapter, but for now, all disclaimers apply. I don't own these wonderful characters. _**  
**_

**Chapter One: Divergence, Part One**

* * *

_"Now, look at all the guilt which burdens you so. What do you blame yourself for?"_

_"I ran away. I hurt all those people."_  
_"Accept the reality that these things happened, but do not let them cloud and poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence on the world, you need to forgive yourself."_

Aang and Guru Pathik_- The Guru  
_

* * *

Dawn's soft light filtered through the clouds, bathing the harsh and wild land that was the South Pole in in soft pink and golden hues. The ice and snow sparkled like millions of little diamonds scattered across the sea as the light grew ever brighter, the floating landscape subtly changing as it drifted lazily in the stillness of the morning. A small fleet of _umiak _drifted along the current with the icebergs, the blue sails and the tanned tiger-sealskin hulls also lit up with the dawn's sleepy glow as well as the lanterns that hung at the very bow of each craft. At the head of them all was Chief Hakoda's umiak, and standing at the bow was the chief himself. Hakoda surveyed the surrounding sea with excitement.

Today was the last day of their hunt, and tomorrow they were free to go home.

Going home was always a highlight for him; never mind the return feast that would be waiting for them (though he always enjoyed it), it was his beautiful wife Kya waiting for him with a smile and a kiss that made the term 'coming home' far more meaningful and appropriate. His young son Sokka would also be there to greet him with babbling joy, and Kanna would be there with a wry smile and a bony finger jabbing his side, proclaiming that he was wasting away with hunting camp cooking only and that it was a good thing there was going to be a feast. However, his anxiousness today also stemmed from not knowing if Kya was alright.

When he and his fellow warriors had left last month, she was round as the moon with their next child.

The sounds of footsteps behind him interrupted his worry about Kya (and his unborn baby's) well being, and he turned to see Bato regarding him with a mildly amused look. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"That thing where you randomly space out." Bato huffed, ignoring the annoyed glance Hakoda threw his way, "Kya will be fine."

"How do you know I'm thinking about her?" Hakoda asked peevishly, forgetting his standing as chief in the presence of his childhood friend and dropping all formal pretenses. "I could be thinking about stewed sea prunes for all you know."

Bato smirked. He knew Hakoda well enough by now to know that the lovestruck look whenever his friend started to think about Kya was _nothing_ like the look he reserved for stewed sea prunes. "Sure, whatever you say." He walked over and snuffed out the lantern as he changed the subject. "Today is our last day, and we have plenty to bring back home. Should we head out early, or try for the walrus whale again?"

The walrus whale was the largest of all the animals in the South Pole, on either land or sea. Catching and killing the ten ton beast earned one about the same esteem as bringing down a polar leopard or a polar bear dog, but with the added bonus of valuable meat, blubber, and bone that would help the village substantially throughout the long dark months that marked high summer. The elongated tusks that curved out from it's maw were used by the women to make carvings that were of the most intricate, delicate variety. Those would be traded during the Spring and Autumn Trades, when they would be exchanged with Earth Kingdom merchants for necessities that couldn't be found in Polar regions- everything from cloth and rope to rare herbal remedies and fruit. Hakoda had never caught a walrus whale himself, but he desperately wanted to. "We still have today, Bato. I think as long as the others are willing, we should go for it."

Bato grinned. "I'll sound the signal and get the others ready."

Hakoda nodded at his friend's retreating form before looking out over the ice filled ocean once more. He wasn't sure why, but he felt as if this time his hunt would be different- it was as if the wind held a promise of something mysterious and great, and he hoped that it was the Spirits giving him their blessing for whatever the day would bring.

* * *

The hunt didn't go _quite_ as Hakoda planned.

It had seemed to be going quite well at first. He had led his men to a known rout that walrus whales used this time of year, and lo and behold after a good portion of the morning passed he had found an entire pod traveling along the invisible path through the water. Finding them, however, turned out to be the easiest part.

They had managed to separate one handsome brown male from the group and were now in the process of tracking it as it sped through the water, the wide ribbons of blood marking an easy trail even if they couldn't see the wild thrashing as it tried fruitlessly to shake off the harpoons and inflated turtle seal skin drogues. It was putting up a furious fight; after three hours of swimming it seemed ready to keep on going without tiring, and it was headed into an area of water that was crammed with ice floes and icebergs. This was a problem. If the drogues weren't slowing the beast down enough to let them get close and land a killing blow right now, the walrus whale might use the surrounding ice to pull the harpoons and drogues free, and the tribe would be short a whale and Hakoda would go home with wounded pride.

With that thought spurring him on, Hakoda made the life changing decision to follow the walrus whale into dangerous territory.

Later on, the remembrance of details after that were admittedly fuzzy- Bato always said that he tried to talk Hakoda out of such an idiotic thing, but Hakoda (try as he might) would never be able to recall his friend's wise caution. All Hakoda would recall was the sheer urge of _stop the walrus whale_, as it had managed to snag one of the drogues on a tall spire shaped piece of ice and was thrashing and flailing in a panic as two more also got stuck and entangled. The ice began to split and crack with the animal's frantic struggling, and before Hakoda could sail any closer, the whale pulled free.

With an almighty crack that split the air the ice split down the middle, sending a wave that upset the umiak's rapid approach and effectively giving the wounded whale a cover to escape.

It was the next few moments however that were strongly remembered by every man who was close enough to witness it- as soon as the ice cracked and split, a strange, bubbling glow appeared in the water where the spire once floated. Bato, Hakoda, and every warrior in the chief's umiak raced to the bow and peered at the water with equal parts trepidation and awe. For one horrifying instant, Hakoda wondered if they had somehow offended _Sedna_ and this was the prelude before a murderous rage as the light grew brighter and the bubbles raced up towards the surface even more rapidly. Just as he was about to straighten up and tell the men to back away from it, the bubbling ceased for a silent moment before a giant, luminous sphere of ice suddenly burst forth from the freezing water, spraying him and his men as the waves sloshed against the umiak's side. The glow emanating from it was intense, and everyone had to shield their eyes momentarily before gaping at the incredible sight.

It took a moment for Hakoda to realize that the ice itself wasn't glowing, it was something _in_ the ice...

or rather, some_one_ in the ice.

The chief gripped his club compulsively, frozen in his horrified wonder for a moment before impulsively jumping off the port side bow and hopping on the ice floes toward the mysterious iceberg. "Hakoda!" Bato cried in alarm, leaping after him in exasperation, "Wait! You don't know what that thing is! What if it's a trap?"

Ah, so the idea of Sedna and her tricks on hunters had also occurred to Bato. "I don't think it is," he replied, by now having reached the iceberg's edge and laying a gloved hand on the brilliant surface. "Look inside!"

By now Bato had caught up to his chief and more men had followed as well. The other umiak in the fleet circled warily around the ice riddled territory, not daring to be as adventurous and risking damage to their hulls but coming as close as they could to get a better look. Bato and the closest men all shared astonished looks as they finally saw what had caught their chief's now unwavering attention.

It was a boy- a glowing young boy in suspended animation, the brilliance coming from the white hot energy shining from the curious looking tattoos and from his (now open) eyes. There was something else in there too, but it was the boy who had Hakoda's undivided attention. Flashes of childhood stories entered the chief's mind; stories of long ago, when the four nations lived together in harmony, when airbenders wandered the skies, and when the Avatar kept balance between the physical and spirit worlds. The last Avatar had vanished nearly a century ago, and according to the stories he or she was an Air Nomad. _Is this the long lost Avatar? _Hakoda couldn't help but wonder, _Am I looking at the last of the Air Nomads?_

Hefting his club, he decided there was only one way to find out. Before Bato could stop him, Hakoda found the thinnest looking spot within reach and gave the club a mighty swing- the ice fracturing with the first hit, and the second causing the whole thing to crumble and break. A sudden sharp blast of air nearly toppled him and the men as the light became unbearably bright, the ice cracking from the sheer power of it until the top of the iceberg itself exploded. The beam of light shone for a few blinding seconds before it died down a bit, allowing Hakoda to peek out from behind his upraised arm in amazement and caution.

The boy had emerged from inside, standing at the top lip of the now partially destroyed iceberg and staring down with burning eyes at Hakoda and the men for a long moment before the light flickered and, without warning, died. There was only a split second of clarity in the child's gray eyes before the boy swayed in place and fell, his last breath leaving him in a soft groan just as another child was taking her first.

* * *

"_...I'm afraid we have much to discuss."_

Aang had no idea just how much there really was to discuss.

As soon as the elder finished speaking, the surrounding fog began to rise and swirl, languidly at first but rapidly picking up speed. It soon swallowed the gathering of people before him until he was alone with the fire nation man, the rising fog spinning higher and higher around them both until it enveloped them completely. Aang nervously scrambled to his feet to stand by his mysterious companion's side as he watched the swirling mist pick up speed around them. "Where am I?" He had to raise his voice to be heard, "What's going on?"_  
_

"You are in the Spirit World because you have died." The man stated sternly, seemingly unfazed by the now furiously spinning mist as it whipped their clothes and the man's beard about violently. Aang flinched as though struck by the underlying frustration in the man's words. "Your actions, as well as mine, have thrown the world disastrously out of balance, and it may be irreversible if something is not done about it."

Aang was about to ask what balance had to do with any of his questions when abruptly the roaring cyclone of mist dispersed, revealing in it's silent wake something that startled Aang far more than any of the previous events so far.

He was looking at himself.

With a startled cry, he jerked backward and away from the other him, accidentally thumping into his companion's chest in his blind fright. "It's alright Aang," A ghost of a smile graced the elderly man's face for the first time as he gripped the boy's shoulder in reassurance. "You are looking at what happened when you became lost in the storm. You need to understand the past and current events before you understand the implications for the future."

Shaking himself of his fright and steeling himself so he wouldn't seem like a coward again, Aang stared at the scene unfolding before him. He watched as the apparition of himself held onto Appa's reins for dear life, flying blindly through the storm and growing closer and closer to Water Tribe territory. The storm, as Aang already knew, grew to be too much to handle, and it eventually tossed them violently into the raging ocean below. Unconsciously, he leaned forward to get a better look at what he knew would happen next- that strange Avatar thing he had done.

As expected, the other Aang's eyes and tattoos soon burned white with incredible power as he swept his arms together in a sharp motion that commanded both air and water to obey and form a frozen shell around himself and his bison. However, instead of coming out of the Avatar State, he remained in it, suspended in a slowly spinning sphere of white hot energy that enveloped Appa as well. The ice glowed brightly with the ethereal light, making the underwater scene look rather tranquil and beautiful in spite of the raging storm above the surface.

Aang watched in silence for a long moment before turning to his companion with a confused frown. "I don't get it. I saved myself while in the Avatar State- I know that much about Avatar stuff to see what it did for me. So how did I die? How long was I like that?"

"In a moment, Aang." The man nodded over at the scene, prompting Aang to look once more. "During your time in the iceberg, the war that the monks warned you of came to fruition." The scene began to morph and melt from the tranquil light of the underwater ice sphere to an ominous blood red sky that seemed to bleed it's unnatural light onto everything, including the troops of Fire Nation soldiers and the ancient looking Fire Lord who stood before them. Peering at the man intently, Aang realized it was Fire Lord Sozin, the one who was (as far as he knew) currently reigning. "What's going on?" He asked uneasily, a nameless dread hanging heavily over his heart. "Who are they going to fight? Why is the sky like that?"

His companion closed his eyes, bowing his head in anguish as his hands vanished up into the spacious sleeves of his robe. "The year you ran away was the year that the great comet arrived. Fire Lord Sozin had made sure that he had removed me from the picture twelve years before so he could move forward with his plans of conquest without the Avatar's interference."

Aang jerked his head up in surprise at that. _Of course, how did I not see it before? _He thought, mentally smacking himself. This man was the previous Avatar before him- Monk Gyatso had spent the better part of Aang's last week at the Temple educating him about the history of the Avatar, and he had mentioned the esteemed Avatar Roku on numerous occasions. No one knew what had happened to him, but now Aang had a good idea of what must have transpired. "You fought him, didn't you?" he asked quietly, peeking up at the old Avatar even as the scene before them began to melt and change once again.

Roku nodded. "Once, but I spared his life, thinking that he would listen to my warning. I was wrong, and he took advantage of my mercy." His eyes hardened. "I could have stopped the war Sozin had planned before it even began, had I been more decisive and acted sooner." He grasped Aang's shoulder again as he gestured toward the image before them, calling Aang's attention to the comet that now tore through the sky. "The Avatar holds great power and responsibility, but in the end we are human, and can make mistakes. I am not the first to have failed in his duty..." -a flash of a few different faces appeared in Aang's mind, ones he recognized from the crowd he had met when he arrived. Roku prompted him to turn his attention to the scene before them once more, the Air Temples coming into view. "...Nor am I the last."

* * *

**Author's note**: I'm going to clear up a couple things ahead of time before everyone asks me a bunch of needless questions:

**#1:** Katara will be the most prominent character, but be patient as I get the preliminary stuff out of the way. She'll show up soon, I promise.

**#2: **The pacing and writing is under construction as I try to find the flow for this story, so please excuse any flaws and kinks you might find. I'm writing without a beta currently, so if anyone knows of a good one _please_ let me know!

**#3:** I will be focusing on a lot of cultural stuff, and I'm going to take liberties and use references whenever I see fit. I will be using a mix of Inuit/Yupik, Chinese, and Native American elements in describing the Water Tribes and their way of life, and I will be using a lot of Inuit names for people and objects. As featured in this chapter, whaling was a part of Inuit culture, and the method I had Hakoda practice is more or less the way it was done with smaller whales in real life.

**#4: **As you can see, Aang doesn't know much about the past Avatars at this point. He will, however, find out during the time of quietly watching Katara grow up. By the time she is ready to go on her adventure Aang will have mentally grown enough to offer plenty of wisdom in regards to the Avatar in general, and will be her spiritual mentor as well as her airbending instructor. He will be the second most important character, even if he's dead.

**#5:** Aang did _not_ die in the Avatar State. This is important, as Katara (and everyone else after her) can't be the Avatar if that happens. He died seconds after the Avatar Spirit left him, and not a moment before. Appa (as you'll see in part two) still lives because the Avatar Spirit kept him alive, just like canon. The main difference in this fic is that the Avatar Spirit's continuous usage greatly taxed Aang's body and he couldn't live without it's support after a few decades, while Appa was merely under the umbrella of it's sustaining power. Anything else you guys may want to know will eventually be revealed down the road, as Katara will be asking a lot of the same questions as you do, so be patient and read on!


	3. Divergence (part two)

**Chapter One: Divergence, Part Two**

_This can't be happening,_ Aang thought, fighting an unnatural difficulty to breathe. This wasn't real, it was all just some horrible, horrible nightmare and he would wake up in Appa's saddle, feeling the biting cold of the polar air as they flew away to freedom. This simply _wasn't possible_.

The blood sky rained ash and flame all around him as his people- old, young, it didn't matter to the Fire Nation soldiers- were brutally attacked without warning. Sky bison fell out of the sky like great flaming boulders as all four sacred Air Temples were reduced to serving as his people's funeral pyres.

Aang had no idea how long he stood there witnessing the holocaust, but it felt as if he were locked in some twisted eternity where there was nothing but death and destruction everywhere he turned. Screams of the living and the dying resounded in his ears and echoed in his soul, and the everlasting roar of fire wasn't enough to drown them out even as it devoured the young monk's entire culture in one day. He gripped the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to block out the vision, but it was all in vain as the scenes before him grew in intensity.

_Stop, please stop...Stop it! STOP!_

"_**STOP**!"_

With Aang's anguished scream, the vision surrounding him dissipated like it was nothing more than smoke being sucked out an open window. The screams and burning and death faded away as he fell to his knees, curling into himself and shaking violently as ragged sobs tore from his throat. _No, no, no, no..._

After a long time, Roku placed a gentle hand on his head, sorrow lacing his words. "I'm so sorry you had to see this, Aang."

Through the haze of grief, bile rose in the young monk's throat and an unfamiliar anger took root in his heart as the fresh memory of those graphic images replayed over and over in his mind. How dare Roku act like this was his sorrow? These were _his_ people, _his_ nation! "_Are_ you?" He asked bitterly in a tear roughened voice, looking up sharply at the previous Avatar. "Are you really? This was _your_ people who did this! The monks warned me of a war, but I never thought it would be like this! I would have tried to- I could have...c-could have...' His voice a near shout until he choked on the last sentence, his tone dwindling and dying as fresh tears pricked his eyes and constricted his throat with shame.

_I could have saved them._

"No, you could not have, even if you had never ran away at all." A deep sigh escaped the old man. "He was looking to destroy you. As the Avatar you were the only one who could possibly stop him, and he had no way of knowing who you were. All he knew was you had been born an Airbender."

A tormented moan escaped the boy at the revelation, but before Aang could pull away further into himself Roku forced him to meet his gaze. "What you witnessed was _not_ your fault, Aang. It was _mine, _and I will never be free of that burden. As the Avatar, I had the duty to protect the world, no matter where I had come from or who I was friends with. By being merciful to Sozin, I opened up the door for him to unleash the single most devastating war that the world has ever seen. I had no idea what ramifications my actions had on the world until it was too late. Because of me, the world is still suffering under the war's effects, even now."

As he continued to stare hopelessly at his knees, the young monk honestly didn't know what to think or say in reply. His mind was drowning in a sea of grief, horror, and now immense guilt from what he'd seen. Understandably, he was not in much of a position to do much other than try to gulp back tears and ask the obvious questions. "S-so what do w-we do now?" He wavered, "I j-just _died_, and my people are gone..."

"That is so," Roku agreed, "And the world has suffered for nearly ninety years with the absence of the Avatar."

Aang recoiled, aghast. "I've been frozen for _ninety_ _years_?!"

"Exactly eighty five years have passed since that storm." Roku confirmed.

Aang could hardly fathom it- eighty five years of war, death, and destruction. Eighty five years of oblivion for himself underwater while the world cried out for it's Avatar. Eighty five years of the world waiting for salvation, only to have to wait even longer now that he had died.

...If he _wasn't_ going to be eternally punished for this, he was going to be incredibly surprised.

The surrounding pale mist had been subtly dissipating during the conversation that followed the vision, slowly thinning out until it was nearly gone, merely lapping at Roku's ankles and at Aang's knees. Scrubbing at his face with his sleeve, he stood to his feet, too emotionally exhausted to be surprised to find assembled before him the vast crowd of people he'd met when he had first arrived. _My past lives, _Aang now realized numbly. He didn't dare meet their gazes, and he simply couldn't bear to look at the hundreds of past Avatars from his own nation. He was too disgusted with how monumental his failure had been.

"Now that you have been shown what you have missed, it is time to discuss your future."

Roku's pronouncement seemed to somehow be the cue for all the mist to disappear, allowing Aang to notice for the first time the surroundings were actually substantial and not just made up of empty space and fog as he first thought. Everything was bathed in warm light, as if it were a clear, cloudless sunny day, though there was no sun to be seen. There were strange looking banyan trees dotted here and there, and if he took the time to look down he would have seen that the ground was made up of something transparent. It looked as if they were a long, long ways into the heavens, as stars and other celestial objects could be spotted if one tried hard enough. Aang didn't have the time to take it all in, however. His first and foremost concern lay within the vaguely ominous sounding pronouncement that Roku had made. A childish but very real fear gripped him- however much he thought he deserved it, the idea of eternal damnation was terrifying, and he couldn't help the desperate thought of how it was so unfair.

As Roku left his side and merged back into the crowd, figure from the back row emerged. To Aang's mild surprise it was a young Air Nomad woman. She wore a simpler version of the signature orange and saffron robes of his people as well as an additional headdress like the nuns from over four thousand years ago did, her trailing auburn hair kept back in a long braid. Her forehead was unshaven, (Aang guessed correctly that this Avatar was among the very first of the benders- shaving was something the early nomads never practiced), and her deep brown arrow tattoos were more intricate than his own sky blue ones. Her hazel eyes appeared much too old to match her youthful appearance, though her gaze was gentler than Roku's as she regarded him. As Aang would spend more time in and out of the Spirit World he would learn all of the Avatars by name, and he would eventually know this particular one as Avatar Nima, the very first Avatar to ever exist. "Avatar Aang," She began, not seeming to want to waste time with introductions at the moment, "We have gathered here to discuss you and the state of the world."

He was suddenly very nervous.

"As the Avatar, you have failed in your duty," Aang wilted, but the ancient Avatar surprised him by her next words. "but it was a burden that you were not ready for. There is a reason those chosen by the Avatar Spirit are not told of their identity until they are sixteen. Many of us gathered here before you have underwent the burden before we were ready, and a number of us have failed before we had a chance. Some here have failed in the middle of their task. Others have beaten the odds and provided peace and stability before they ever turned sixteen at all." Her serious expression didn't change, though her eyes softened. "It has been decided that you are not to be judged for the state of the world, as it was not your fault."

As grateful as he was that he wasn't going to face horrific punishment, Aang still couldn't muster up even a shadow of a smile of gratitude. "It still doesn't change what happened." he whispered hollowly, his throat still tight. "I still ran away. Our nation is gone now."

She nodded solemnly. "You are right, it doesn't change what happened. It does not mean that change cannot happen now, however."

He blinked in confusion at the nun. "What do you mean?"

"There is talk among us and the Spirits of giving you a second chance."

A second chance? Was such a thing even possible? A seed of hope began to sprout in his heart, though he knew he shouldn't hope for something that sounded far too good to be true. _But if I could somehow fix this..._

"The Avatar Cycle is in danger of ceasing after the next three Avatars die, since you were the very last of the Air Nomads." Avatar Nima interrupted his thoughts, "Balance cannot be kept if the next Avatar cannot learn airbending, and balance will surely be destroyed if the Fire Nation uses the comet again."

"..._Again_?" Dread colored Aang's tone.

"It will come in fourteen year's time." She confirmed solemnly, "And if used again the world will never recover from it. The new Avatar will have much to bear, and no airbending master to teach her what she needs to know."

Oh. _OH_... "You want me to teach the new Avatar airbending?" He asked hesitantly, not bothering to wonder about the ancient Avatar's curious referral of the new Avatar as a 'her'. _Please, please let me do this. Please let me help fix my mistakes!_

A small smile touched the nun's lips. "Yes, we do." Before Aang could smile and babble his thanks, she continued. "There is a catch, however."

All his enthusiasm crashed to a stuttering halt. Of _course _there was a catch.

"You will be in spirit form when you see her- unlike other spirits who cross over to the physical world you don't have the danger of dying because you're already dead. As such, however, you cannot airbend." She ignored Aang's disappointed groan. "Handicap aside, you must teach the Avatar airbending, even if it's outside the traditional order. You must see to it she survives up to the point of the comet- this is very important! She will have to face the Fire Lord alone, but until then you are to be her guide. If she survives the war, and defeats the Fire Lord before the comet arrives, you will be granted a second chance at life to help rebuild our lost culture. During your time you will exist temporarily outside of the Avatar Cycle." The previous Avatar leveled her most serious look on him, her normally gentle expression hardening into steely seriousness. "No one in all of history has ever been offered the gift you are about to receive, and it will never be offered again. The fate of the world is in your hands as well as hers. _Do not fail again._"

The gravity of the situation and the preciousness of the offered second chance was not lost on him. He meant his next words with every fiber of his being. "I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked- I'm going to make a difference this time. I promise I'll keep her safe. I won't fail the world again!"

"Good." Avatar Nima's features and tone softened slightly. "Before you meet the new Avatar, it's time to collect a lost friend." As she waved her hand towards her left, Aang was startled to see that a hole appeared in the space next to her- a portal, he realized. To his relief, Appa's sleeping form could be seen faintly on the other side. "After all, the new Avatar is going to need all the help she can get."

* * *

Hakoda was deeply troubled by the strange happenings of the day.

When they boy had collapsed, Hakoda had darted forward to catch him, intending on seeing if there was any chance of saving him. However, before he could even touch him the child became transparent and then faded away as if he had never existed. Needless to say, everyone was frightened out of their wits, and many of the men immediately cried aloud that it was a terrible sign of doom.

"_A ghost!" _

"_What does it mean?" _

"_We're going to die, that's what! Why else would we see a ghost in the first place?" _

"_There's no such thing as ghosts, you chicken goose! It's a trick of the Spirits, I'm sure of it." _

"_Chief Hakoda, what do we do?" _

"_We're cursed men! How are we to know we won't carry it home with us?"_

The clamor rose until Hakoda couldn't take it any more. "ENOUGH!" He bellowed, finally turning from the empty spot at his feet and glaring impatiently at his warriors. He straightened to his full height, his own confusion and fear falling away as he fell into 'chief mode' and addressed the men. "It's certain that we've just witnessed the work of the Spirits. I'm not sure what it was all about, but... I believe we just saw the Avatar."

"What makes you think so?" Bato queried after a silent moment, "The Avatar disappeared nearly a century ago."

"Yes, he did. He must have been stuck in the ice all this time- there's no other reasonable explanation for his appearance and the glowing light." Hakoda reasoned, "We will need to ask our elders what it all means."

Nukka, the youngest warrior, gulped apprehensively as he fidgeted with the hem of his whaling _anorak_. "So what should we do, Chief Hakoda? Do we... do we just go home now?"

The question gave him pause- he had no idea what to do at all. It seemed almost ludicrous to go home right this second, though he didn't blame Nukka for suggesting what everyone wanted to do. However, it seemed a little pointless (not to mention dangerous) to stick around on what could very well be a cursed iceberg. The chief's sharp gaze darted up to blasted out top of the iceberg, and then to the portion of the side that was also gone, just visible from his line of vision. After a long moment of indecision, he finally spoke. "I suggest we take a look and make sure there's nothing else here. Once we do that, we'll head home early. We aren't too far away from our villages, and we ought to be able to arrive at them both before the sun sets."

As frightened as everyone was, they all agreed it was the most logical thing to do, and they followed Hakoda's lead as he warily made his way into the interior. It was a fortunate thing that he had decided to look after all, for it turned out that the boy hadn't been the only thing trapped inside.

It was a great, furry beast- what it was however was anyone's guess, though it was apparently the boy's pack animal, judging by the saddle. It seemed to be sleeping, great puffs of slow breathing causing the closest men's parkas, fur trim, and hair to sway in time as if it were making a light but surprisingly substantial breeze. _It probably is_, Hakoda surmised as he studied it for a moment in silence, _If the nomad child was real, than this thing- whatever it is- might also bend air. _ He was deeply regretting blowing his mother off so often during story time in his childhood- she would know more about airbenders and their culture than most._ As it is, we'll find out sooner or later._ _It can't stay here, otherwise we'll be cursed by the spirit of that boy for abandoning his animal. _

As it slowly stirred awake, a random thought prompted him to smile in spite of his caution: It seemed that today's hunt had turned up a ten ton beast after all.

* * *

Unseen by the chief and his men, Aang had crossed over into the physical world and was now standing next to Appa's head and finding himself mildly amused at the men and their cautious curiosity as they studied Appa and (thanks to one nimble warrior) the contents of his saddle. He smiled up at his old friend, raising a slightly transparent, glowing hand and rubbing Appa's nose gently to rouse him. _"Come on, buddy._" He murmured as Appa blearily blinked down at him,_ "It's time to go home."_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone _else_ asks this again (you know who you are), I will make myself clear: this is NOT a Zutara fan fiction! The summery says '_Canon _Pairings'. This will have Kataang, Yukka, Sukka, and a smattering of Tokka. This will have Maiko. This will be like the canon series was written; full of adventure, action, drama, and friendship! Don't worry so much over whether or not I put this in the right category, because I know what I'm doing. Katara and Aang are the two main characters, and yes, they _will_ end up in a romantic relationship, but it's not the absolute main focus. It's the deep bond of friendship forged by their mutual journey that is the main focus, and that's the first step to a great romantic relationship down the road.

To recap: Zutara, Ty Zula, Taang, and all other non-canon pairings are not to be had here. Look elsewhere if you want them.

On to other things...

_Anorak_: A man's parka, but strictly speaking it's a _type_ of parka. It often has ties around all the openings, is more plain (devoid of unnecessary trim that can get wet), and is water resistant.

I chose to make Appa able to see Aang because they are/were spiritually bonded. Appa and Katara will be the only ones to see Aang on a regular basis. (And speaking of her, she will make her grand appearance in the next chapter!)

Sorry this chapter was so speech driven. :( I'm afraid there was no way to avoid that.

Please note that I will be absent for a few weeks, I'm in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days, and I'm also in the middle of trying to move to a new place. Things will get busy, but don't worry! I'm going to write out bits and pieces of the next few chapters as I can. :)

** EDIT:** Thanks to the anonymous reviewer for pointing out my mistake about Ozai! I fixed it.


	4. Katara of the South

**Chapter Two: Katara of the South**

* * *

_"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!"_**  
**

Pirate Barker Oh- _The Waterbending Scroll_

* * *

"_Feast your eyes and your bellies on the most exotic assortment of fruit you've ever seen, right here, folks!"_

"_Nobody beats Cho's high grade spices and herbs!"_

"_Introducing the finest quality cotton, silk, and linen clothes, all at the affordable prices you've come to know from the Bei Fong name!"_

"_Get your knives sharpened right here, ladies and gents!"_

Soft little flakes of snow danced on the chilled autumn breeze, but the atmosphere was anything but cold to eight year old Katara as she held onto her brother's gloved hand and tilted her head every which-way to gaze at everything she could. The great Autumn and Spring Trades were some of the best times of year for the children, and the sights, sounds, and smells stimulated the senses like nothing else could. It was a special time -almost as special as the holidays- when her fellow tribesmen who traded fur, meat, ivory, and tools mingled with Earth Kingdom merchants who sold all manner of exotic things inside the ice walls of the main village. The air was filled with the scent of cooking meat, fish, and various noodle dishes; and coupled with the noise of people bartering and and colorful sights lit up with the glow of the late afternoon sun, it was like the Moon Festival all over again.

"What do you think, Katara?" Sokka asked mischievously, stopping at a hat vendor's stall and plopping a rather gaudy purple felted piece accented with long green feathers onto his head. The nine year old let go of his sister's hand and turned around for her with a grand flair, preening a bit. "I look pretty good, huh?"

The eight year old eyed him critically, though a small giggle threatened to escape. Though the shade of purple could be alright by itself, seeing the over-sized hat in all it's dubious glory on her big brother's head was leaving Katara fishing for an appropriate answer. "Well..."

"Hey, stop playing with that!" The hat was snatched away by the offended vendor. "These are for ladies only!"

Sokka recoiled in disgust, while Katara laughed. "I was going to tell you it didn't really look like a guy hat." She chided. Her belly rumbled noisily, startling them both before she grinned sheepishly. "We should get back to Mom and Dad," Sokka nodded up at the slowly setting sun, "The trade is wrapping up for the day, and the feast should be on soon."

Katara nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "And then we'll get to see the dancing! Maybe Dad will get Gran Gran to come out this time and do the paddle dance!"

They reluctantly moved away from the hat stall and started back to the fur station. "Wouldn't it be great if we could travel around the world like the merchants do?" Katara asked dreamily, looking over at a stand that held various hair ornaments and jewelry on their way, "We'd get to see so much. We could go places that we hear about from Gran Gran, and meet new people..."

Sokka offered a shrug, huffing an annoyed breath and rolling his eyes. "You say the same thing _every_ year! Why would you want to leave the South Pole? It's our home. Besides, we have everything we need right here, really. The Trades are here to help feed Appa and to have Dad find out some news about the war."

She didn't reply, though a scowl darkened her features. The war was something that seemed so far away- Gran Gran and even Mom and Dad had lived through raids on their small tribe, but so far Katara herself had never seen anything more serious than the old Fire Nation warship that was stranded on the outskirts of her village. Being so young, it seemed like everything outside of her small corner of the world was simply too far away and disconnected to be a bother. She hated the fact that Dad and many of the men had begun talking of joining the war effort. She didn't want _anything_ to change- everything was just fine as it was, thank you very much!

However... it _would_ be so much more fun to explore things beyond her little corner of the world. It would be interesting to see new things, and the notion of seeing something new outside her culture was highly appealing. The Trades felt like the world was visiting her, letting her know that there were things out there that simply couldn't be found here among her beloved plains of snow and ice. A budding longing grew in her heart, even as she looked over at her family that she loved so much. It was a nameless restlessness, and she could do little other than try to be content with dreams of traveling and the hope that she'd meet a waterbending teacher someday.

She had confided as much to her secret friend, Aang. He reassured her about the prospect of meeting a master someday, and would often distract her with all kinds of fascinating stories about the places he'd been to; stories of sliding down mail chutes in Omashu with his madcap friend Bumi, seeing giant elephant koi, and of flying through the air and watching sky bison polo tournaments at the Northern Air Temple. _He's so lucky._ She thought with a tinge of disappointment. _He and Appa had all kinds of fun._

It didn't occur to her to be afraid of him, even when she had found out at the tender age of five that her glowing, slightly transparent friend was not a real person at all, but a spirit. It was like something from a fireside tale, and she was thrilled that she had another friend to play with, even if she had to be a little sneaky about it. _"Your family can't see me,"_ He had explained patiently after the first time she had unsuccessfully tried to tell them about him, _"They'd think you're crazy or think I'm a ghost coming to do something bad to you if you tell them about me again. We have to keep me as a secret, okay?"_

She had cheerfully complied, and ever since then she and Aang were nearly inseparable. He was always somewhere nearby (even if she couldn't see him right away), and he would play games with her whenever she found herself alone. Once the stories of where he had been to started flowing, her wild curiosity about the world in general only grew. When the Trades came, he'd often point out different things and tell her what they were and where they came from. She drank in every word without so much as a peep, because the last time she responded to him without thinking, Sokka had given her a funny look and then laughed about her 'make believe' friend.

Speaking of which...where was Aang, anyway?

It turned out he was with her family, unseen by all except herself and Appa, who let out a soft rumble of contentment as the spirit boy scritched behind the bison's ear. He perked up and waved at her as she and Sokka approached. _"Hi Katara!"_

She glanced over at her family to be sure no one was paying attention before she offered a grin and waved back. Sokka was busy talking to Mom about the hat incident, Gran Gran was sorting out the newly acquired goods from the trades Dad had made earlier in the morning (were those papayas in that basket? _Ugh_...), and Dad was busy with the scruffy, rather greasy looking Earth Kingdom trader who was looking over the pack of turtleseal skins and the polarbear dog pelt that were left. They wouldn't hear her if she spoke to Aang for a minute. "Hi! Did everything go good over here?"

"_Yep."_ Aang floated down from Appa's head down to her side, coming to rest on top of the fresh snow without disturbing a single flake. _"Your family made off pretty good this time! Lots of things got traded, though I'm sorry to say your grandma got some papayas again."_

"Yuck..."

"_Your dad has been asking around most of the day for a waterbender to teach you, but no luck so far."_ He added.

Katara wilted in disappointment. Dad, at Mom and Gran Gran's urging, had begun to look around for a water bending master to teach her, but it seemed that she was (so far) the one and only bender in the whole South Pole. "What if they can't find one for me?" She worried aloud, absentmindedly swirling the snow around her feet into a couple of peaks. "What if this is all I'm able to do, because no one's around to teach me new tricks?"

Aang looped an arm around her shoulder sympathetically. "_Don't worry, you'll find one sooner or later. Trades are a good spot to ask about these things, because traders meet more people and-_"

Suddenly, Aang hand on her shoulder stiffened, and he turned to look over at the trader. Gran Gran had done the same, and strangely they were both frowning at the man. Katara was startled to find the man was staring right at _her,_ even while he was speaking to her Dad. "...You have a waterbender here?" He was saying, adjusting his green headband and pushing his stringy long hair out of his face to get a better look at her. His hair got caught on the large hoop earrings he wore, and he uttered a muffled curse under his breath as it pulled before continuing. "Huh. I was under the impression that there were no more benders down here."

"Yes, we are looking for a teacher." Dad repeated, a tad annoyed. "There are benders up north, I know, but are you sure you've never heard of any that are closer?"

"...No," the merchant replied slowly, "This is the first I've heard of in a long time."

Did he see her waterbend? Suddenly Katara wasn't so sure she liked the idea of this guy knowing the bender Dad was referring to was in fact herself. The merchant was kind of creepy, with his painted lips tilted down in a thoughtful manner and sharp green eyes never leaving her. Aang's presence made her feel better, though.

"I'm sorry to hear of it," Dad sighed, "I've heard the same from everyone else I've asked today. That's going to make my search that much harder. I don't think we can afford to make a trip all the way across the world just for a teacher."

The man shrugged, but he sent one more look in Katara's direction before abruptly taking his leave. "I'm sorry Chief Hakoda, but I'm not seeing much here that interests me. Your friend Bato already sold me a pack of tigerseal pelts, and I don't have enough here to make a fair trade for the polarbear dog. Maybe next time..."

Tilting a glance up at her friend, Katara was surprised to see Aang's suspicious glare darken even further as he watched the man leave. It was a look she'd never seen on her friend's normally gentle features before. It kind of scared her. "Aang?" She tugged on his shawl in concern. "What's wrong?"

Mistaking the last question as being directed to her, Gran Gran (who had also been warily watching the man leave) shook her head a little and offered a smile. "Nothing, dear. How about you come over and help me carry these things back to the hut? We have a lot to do before the feast tonight..."

* * *

By nightfall the strange exchange of words with the greasy looking trader was forgotten by all except Kanna and Aang, but it was hard for Aang to remain worried and serious during the feast, the ceremonial gift exchange, and the dancing that would last well into the night. Even Appa enjoyed a special treat of hay mixed with alfalfa as he got cozy in his stable outside the enormous central igloo that was reserved for feasts and ceremonies. Thankfully, the man and the rest of his fellow crew members and traders from his ship were not present, and it was easy enough for Aang to push aside the ominous feeling that filled him earlier. _I'll just ask Roku about it later._ He rationalized, amusing himself by walking right through the dinner table before sitting down by his young charge as she played a game of _katajjaq_ with an older girl. After all, the guy wasn't even here. _No reason to worry. _

Presently, the feast was wrapping up, and the men were laughing boisterously over their drinking bowls of imported sake and native vodka at some wild tale being told at Hakoda and Bato's expense. Sebutai the Scarred was putting a finishing touch on the tale of their esteemed Chief's near disastrous wooing of Kya.

Bato and Hakoda groaned aloud over it. "Are we _ever_ going to live that one down?" Hakoda wondered mournfully, his cheeks red from embarrassment and the copious amount of alcohol he'd already consumed.

Bato shook his head. "Not a chance."

The sounds of Namin and Quallik's turtleseal drums pairing up with a few of the traders' erhus and pipas wove itself through the communal igloo, but it was the laughter of the men that seemed to ultimately conjure up Kya's graceful presence. "Chief Hakoda," she stated, her respectful tone cutting through the laughter and gaining the men attention. Hakoda gasped as his wife took the drinking bowl from his hands and, without any warning, chucked it over her shoulder. "I challenge you to a dance off."

Aang laughed at Hakoda's flabbergasted expression. It was easy to see the mischief and merriment that snapped in Kya's blue eyes as she stood in false seriousness, hands planted firmly on her hips as she gazed down at her slightly drunk husband and awaited his answer.

Hakoda stood, matching his wife's posture. "Well, it looks like the gauntlet's been thrown down." He stated mildly.

"More like the drinking bowl!" Bato jeered.

More laughter erupted, this time coming from all sides of the large igloo as the women and children also gathered around to watch the pair. Dance off challenges were always fun to watch, because as it went on the 'penalties' made up for whoever lost got progressively more and more ridiculous as the pace became faster and faster. It was always most fun to watch a pair of talented dancers who were friends or in a relationship, since the dares got even more bold and wild. It pleasantly reminded Aang of the Winter Festival held at the Western Air Temple, and Kya's dancing was the best he had ever seen, anywhere. Tonight's competition would truly prove to be a treat.

The Chief and his wife faced each other in the middle of the (now cleared out) room, bowing to one another before beginning to sway and step in time to the drumbeat, careful to keep their upper body straight even when the dance called for them to dip down in the shallow swooping motion that the bird's wing dance typically called for. Their eyes never left the others', even as the pace subtly grew faster. "If you lose, I dare you to dance with a bowl of sake balanced on your head."

Quallik called out for a change of dance, and as the drums and the Earth Kingdom strings changed notes the pair shifted seamlessly into a faster paced square step. Aang applauded along with the crowd.

Kya scoffed at the idea, though she had in fact done it before. "I dare _you_ to dance shirtless." She countered.

"I can dance shirtless for you anytime." Hakoda wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You _are_ drunk."

Hakoda said something else, but it was lost in the noise of the drums and strings. It must have been a doozy, though, because Kya lightly slapped the side of his head during a spin. "Shame on you!" She cried, laughing even as she blushed furiously.

"I'm not sorry at all."

"We'll see about that..."

The dancing grew faster still, Quallik calling out the name of a different dance at random (and even having props thrown in to them, such as feather rattles and hoops) in the hopes of throwing one of the dancers off their game. The crowd cheered, jeered, and clapped at intervals, though the clapping became more frequent as the contest, which was normally rather short lived, continued on.

_"Go Dad!"_

_"Come on Hakoda, trip her up!"_

_"Make him suffer, Kya!"_

Katara, Aang, and the rest of the crowd burst into laughter and applause when Kya's foot missed a step during a turn, and she reflexively swung out her arm in an attempt to steady herself, accidentally catching her husband's chest in the process and causing the two to go down in a smoldering wreak of tangled limbs, hoops, boots, messed up hair, and a kiss. Quallik's announcement of Hakoda as winner was nearly drowned out, and soon everyone poured out onto the dance floor as the lively music began again.

Katara bounded over to Aang's side. "Come on, let's go join them!" She cried, forgetting herself and tugging on his wrist as she started to hop in place. Thankfully, no one noticed her speaking to seemingly thin air in the midst of the whirl of gaiety, and Aang decided to throw caution to the wind. After all, what was the harm? _"Alright,"_ He grinned, _"Let me show you a little something called the sparrow hop..."_

* * *

"You're _sure_ of this?'

The brisk night air of Whale Tail Island made the trader shiver a little. Sheesh. Why couldn't they ever go inside the _building_ to report these things? It's not like being on deck of a ship was anything new or special.

'_High Risk Trader_' Pirate Barker Oh nodded, his eyes darting to his captain, waiting for the nod to keep going before turning back to the leader of the Southern Raiders. "It was just last week. The Chief is looking for a waterbending master to teach his..."

He trailed off uncertainly. The barbarian chief had never actually _said_ it was his daughter, he had only referred to the waterbender as a 'her'. Perhaps Oh was mistaken and it was really the man's wife? "Well, someone he knew in his tribe." He finished, rather lamely. _Damn_. He really should have pried for more information before leaving so fast... "I'm quite certain it was someone in his family, though."

The leader of the Southern Raiders quietly appraised him for a moment before nodding once, the moonlight glinting rather ominously off of the sharp curves and points of his armor and helmet. "Thank you for the news. We will investigate the claim." He pulled out a small sack from within his belt and counted out a few gold pieces in his hand before tossing the rest in Oh's direction. The Captain snagged the sack just as it brushed Oh's fingers, eliciting a cry of irritation from the barker as he pouted the loss of payment that was rightfully his.

The Captain's eyes lit up as he peeked at the amount inside, and in a rare gesture of thanks, he bowed. "Anything for an extra coin or two."

* * *

**Author's note:** My head canon about the Southern Water Tribe at this point in history is that it had once been a great nation comprised of many large villages, but it had dwindled down to only a few tiny ones since the men seen in canon seemed to greatly outnumber the women in Katara's village. I also have a head canon that Kya's personality would have been a mixture of Katara, Sokka, and Mai's- passion, love, and mischief lurking beneath a normally demure and serious facade. (I also have a head canon that she was the tribe's best dancer, and that Hakoda had first fallen in love with her when he saw her dance when they were teenagers, but I guess that's not important to elaborate on here. Maybe I should do one shots related to this story?)

The trades mentioned are drawn from a few different sources: The passing mention of the 'paddle dance' was a nod to the French Voyagers, something that was a part of the history in my neck of the woods 300-400 years ago, so I couldn't resist sneaking that in there. :) Some of the dances are loosely derived from northern Pow Wows I've been to (Attend one if you can, it's so much fun!), and the feather rattles are something that are used in some traditional hula dances.

_Katajjaq_: A throat singing related game played by Inuit women.

There will be a few _mild_ swears here and there, just as a warning. I'm not given to profanity, but there are some characters who I know would swear rather frequently if the show hadn't been rated for children. I won't use strong language, though. This will be rated 'T' throughout.

Aang's speech will be presented in italics to help set it apart and remind everyone that Katara and Appa (and you, the reader) are the only ones who can hear/see him on a regular basis. His thoughts will be too, so please note the quotation marks or the lack thereof.

Next chapter deals with Katara's discovery as the Avatar, Hakoda's departure, and the beginning of the adventure!


	5. Ashes, Ashes

**Author's note:** (I know, I promised the note would be at the bottom of the chapter, sorry! This time it's necessary.) Here be the inevitable angsty Southern Raiders chapter, folks! Much of the first portion is narration heavy, and then the action will come. As a warning, I'm going to ignore the tamer version that was presented in the show, and offer a more realistic, gritty version.

**Chapter Three part one: Ashes, Ashes...**

* * *

_"Don't you worry about my strength. I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came..."_

Katara- _The Southern Raiders_**  
**

* * *

Today was going to be a good day.

Yan Rha, leader of the elite Southern Raiders, stood at the bow of the flag ship, breathing in one satisfying breath of the sharp polar autumn air and letting it out in a billowing cloud of steam as he surveyed the wasteland that he was assigned to. The Fire Nation truly was in every way superior to this forsaken land of ice- it was a service to the Fatherland that he could help in purifying the world, starting here. Having served in a few other locations, he could testify that though the Earth Kingdom was backward, at least they were somewhat civilized. Looking at the Water Tribes, though, it was clear that they were not part of the great plan that Fire Lord Sozin issued- their land was desolate, their people little more than fur clad savages that ate raw flesh, and even the animals themselves were strange and dangerous. No possible gain could be gotten here, and it was his duty and pleasure to slowly erase the tribes from existence, starting with their benders.

There was only one left, according to his source, and by the sound of it, the person was an untrained person close to the Chief.

_That idiot pirate and his captain were finally useful after all these years,_ Yan Rha mused. A decade of a quiet career here marked by useless biannual reports from those bumbling fools was finally coming to a close. Today, progress would be made at long last.

They would preform an overdue service to the world.

* * *

Something was wrong with Aang.

The spirit boy had grown strangely quieter since the trade two weeks ago, and he had begun to look at Katara with such a sad expression when he thought she wasn't paying attention. She glanced up at him now with a concerned frown for the third time in a span of ten minutes as she tugged on the heavy net she used to haul Appa's hay. Aang was currently perched up in the rafters of Appa's igloo/barn hybrid structure, seeming to be deeply lost in whatever he was thinking about once again.

She huffed a sigh, rolling her eyes. So far Katara had been unsuccessful in getting him to open up at all beyond some half hearted conversations, so as a last resort she tried the only thing that she _knew _would usually cheer him up. "Aang! You haven't told me a story in a while." The little girl wheedled after a moment of thinking, "Tell me what happened after you got caught in the storm! You never finished it last time."

Aang frowned, floating down from the rafters to the enormous pile of golden hay and sat in it, drawing a knee up to his chest and uttering a sad sigh. Just before the trade, he had told a severely abridged version of what had transpired to prompt him to run away, and thankfully Kya had interrupted the tale when she had asked for Katara's assistance in preparing dinner. _"Well...there's nothing else to tell, Katara." _He admitted._ "That's what happens when... when you die young."_

The silence between them was palpable, the only other noise in the stable coming from Appa's low rumble of empathy for his boy and Katara's soft breathing as she solemnly stared at him. She had no idea that when he ran away, it would result in him dying. An ashamed flush lit up her face and she looked down at the ground, mentally kicking herself. _I'm such a dummy! No wonder Aang's been so sad. I asked him to tell me how he died without knowing it, and he's been thinking about it all this time!_

Floating down the rest of the way to the ground, Aang turned away from her in his own shame, grasping Katara's forgotten load of hay and busying himself with feeding his bison as he continued. "_My story was cut short because I was stupid, and I'll never know what things could have been like if I had only lived longer._ _I'm only twelve, you know... er, I _was_, at least. I never lived to be a teenager, much less to an old age, and I'll never get to know what that would have been like." _Aang quickly finished the chore, careful to avoid his friend's concerned gaze as he continued. "_Would I have gotten married? Had kids? Would I have become a monk, or would I have become like my birth family and become a proper nomad, wandering around until Appa could no longer carry me? I'll... I'll never get to find out. And that hurts sometimes, to know that my people are gone and that my chance to live a long life is gone too. My story... is _done_. And what have I got to show for it?" _

Another long silence stretched out between the two, broken only by Appa's noisy munching. Katara sat down in the hay, twiddling her hair loopies and solemnly thinking it over while Aang flopped down next to her, slowly descending into a rare depressive mood over the matter.

It was a disheartening thing, sometimes, to be dead.

Aang was generally pretty good at looking on the bright side and staying positive about his (admittedly kinda rotten) predicament. There were definite perks to being invisible to most, and being able to move through tangible things like they were made of water. It was certainly useful having access to the vast knowledge of his past lives at any given time. But if he was truly honest with himself, he would trade it all in a heartbeat if only he could go back in time and undo his past. It was a lonely thing, to be cut off from everyone he had ever known and loved, and Aang found that being invisible to everyone but Appa and the young current Avatar was a rather harsh penance to pay. It was a quiet, lonely existence most of the time, and he sometimes despaired of it ever changing.

Not that he'd forgotten the offer of a second chance at life- not at all. He simply didn't want it to be hinged solely on Katara's future success or failure, and that was the core thing that was really bothering him. Truth be told, he was afraid to believe in the offered hope, as if doing so was forcing his little friend to hurry and be the world's savior when in reality she deserved so much better. She deserved to be a kid. She _deserved_ to be happy, and not know (for even a little longer) that she had a near impossible task ahead of her, a kindness that was denied to Aang himself. She deserved to live a life without pressure, worry, and fear. The terrible part was that it was something she was cursed to bear, just as he had been._ The only difference is that I was a coward and ran away from my duty- Katara will have to face the Fire Lord whether she wants to or not._ _My friend... could be _dead_ before her fifteenth birthday._ _Is the price of freedom and peace really worth the sacrifice of an innocent life?_

Before he could continue down that dangerous trail of thinking, Katara's gloved hand silently slipped into his own and pulled him back to their conversation. "You know what? Your story really isn't done, you know." She said softly.

Aang blinked in confusion as he tried to pull his mind back to their conversation. _"Uh...it isn't?"_

"Nope." She turned to face him with an earnest smile. "You might be a spirit now, but that don't mean you're not alive in a way." She scooted closer, surprising the boy as her little arms wrapped tightly around his transparent frame and snuggled into his chest in a comforting gesture. "Mom said that when someone dies, it's only their body that dies. The real them- the _inside_ them, that's a spirit- is still alive and it can't die at all. So don't be sad, okay? Now you've got _forever_ to live and do things. Plus, you're with me, right? We'll make our own story together, and you'll never be alone again!"

_We'll make our own story together._

Aang's eyes stung with unshed tears as he wordlessly buried his face on top of her head, breathing out a sigh of release into hair and hugging her back. To his surprise Katara had laid to rest a fear of his that had been there since before he died... and he felt lighter than ever before as the weight finally fell off his shoulders._ "Yeah... you're right. I guess death really isn't the end, is it?_" He smiled, despite his voice becoming tear roughened against his will_. "Thank you, Katara." _

* * *

"Katara, who on earth are you talking to?"

Both children jumped with a guilty start, turning towards the entry to see a confused and rather dubious looking Sokka staring at them... well, her, at least. "No one!" Katara yelped, jerking away from Aang's arms. Aang flinched too, before remembering that Sokka couldn't see anything but his sister. It must have been an odd thing to walk in on for Sokka, seeing his sister looking like she was cuddling up to nothing but air.

The nine year old's suspicious look deepened as he itched at his ear and studied his little sister's unconvincing poker face. "Come on, you were talking to someone just a minute ago. Who is it? Are they still here?" He peered around the dim interior, and Appa huffed a suspiciously laugh like grunt as the boy even began looking among the bison's sturdy legs.

Katara stood then, stomping her foot in a huff and tossing her braid in a haughty manner. "As a matter of fact, yes! Go 'way. We're talking about something very important."

Telling a person to go away because important things are being discussed have the opposite effect than wished, of course, and telling it to a curious nine year old brother was like telling a weasel to not try to eat an arctic hen. As the siblings traded smoldering glares, Aang decided that now was an excellent time to take Appa out for a bit to clear his head and sort out what exactly happened between himself and Katara. "I'm going to take Appa out for a spin, okay Katara? See you later."

"What? Wait, _Aang_!"

Too late, he prodded the giant bison forward with a cheerful _"Yip yip!"_ and the two lumbered forward out the stall and flew out of the stable before she could do anything, leaving her crestfallen before Sokka began chortling with laughter. "You _do_ have an imaginary friend, don't you? I thought you were only playing around!"

"I am not!" The little girl scowled, her face flushing red.

"Not what?" he prodded playfully, scampering backward out of the stable and making a kissy face at her, "Playing around with your pretend boyfriend?"

_**Smack!**_

"Ow! You treat your invisible friend like this?"

It devolved from there, the pair of siblings shouting as Katara lunged at him in a tackle, wrestling their way outside the entrance and pulling hair and flinging snow down into parkas and (in Sokka's case) pants while calling each other names of the most scathing quality.

"Poop butt!"

"Cry baby!"

"Meanie!"

"Drool face!"

"Stupid head!"

The two bickered so loudly that for a few moments it escaped their notice that the normally white snowflakes that drifted lazily downward had been steadily growing black until they both froze mid-sentence, their hands still grasping each other's hair as they tilted their faces upward and stared in confusion at the unnatural snowfall. As the soot tainted snow continued to fall, it dawned on the children exactly what this meant.

A raid.

Sokka's mind flashed back to Gran Gran's stories of the ferocious raids in her younger days- where waterbenders were snatched away, never to be seen again, while countless others were killed in the deadly round ups. The cold fingers of fear started to wrap themselves around his heart, though the fear was not for himself. Katara was the last waterbender in all the South Pole. The raiders only came to find waterbenders... and from the look on Katara's face, it appeared she had thought of the same thing.

"Sokka... what should we do?" She asked, looking at him in worry. Others had now noticed the back snow and panic was starting to set in among them as the women herded children back into their respective igloos and tents while the men scrambled for their weapons, not even taking the time to paint their faces as they rushed to meet the swiftly approaching firebenders.

The boy gulped his growing fear down. Warriors were never afraid. Warriors were _brave_. Warriors protected the helpless elders, women, and children from Fire Nation monsters. Katara was looking up to him and asking him to be brave, without realizing it. Sokka found that in a weird way, her fear gave him the courage to forget his own, even if it was only for a minute. "Go find Mom." He directed, grabbing her shoulder and looking her in the eye like Dad did when he gave orders. "Gran Gran is away at the other village so she should be safe, but the Fire Nation will be looking for you, 'cause you're a waterbender. You need to hide with Mom, and Dad and I will make them all go away. Ok?"

Katara offered a wobbly smile. "Ok."

Sokka nudged her forward, but she turned and surprised him with a fierce hug. "I'm sorry I called you a stupid head. Be careful."

"I'm sorry I teased you... even if you _are_ kinda weird." He patted her awkwardly on the back, before disengaging and prodding her towards the direction of their home. "Now hurry up! They're almost here."

Nodding once, Katara offered a smile before dashing away, while Sokka paused for one brief moment to watch her before turning away in the other direction.

* * *

_I gotta run and hide,_ Katara thought to herself anxiously, dodging the other women and children who ran, and running even faster as the war cry from the men behind her signaled that the Fire Nation had already landed. _I can't let anyone find out I'm a waterbender!_

It was hard, running in freshly fallen snow with such short legs, and harder still to run in her thick parka, but it didn't stop Katara from running as fast as she could through the lanes. She chanced a look over her shoulder, and fear gave her an extra burst of speed when she saw that her father and the men were badly outnumbered, and they couldn't stop some of the Fire Nation soldiers that started streaming into the village itself.

After a few close calls, she finally made it to the house, her lungs burning from running so fast in the cold as she swept aside the thick sealskin curtain that acted as the door. "_Mom_!" She cried, not even three steps past the threshold before she found herself skidding to a halt with a gasp.

Mom wasn't alone.

A Fire Nation soldier had already found their home, and was standing before her kneeling, rather rumpled looking mother with a frightening expression on his face and his fists clenched. The house was in a disarray, as if Mom had been putting up a struggle, and the smoking, sputtering remains of the bedding on the floor suggested that Mom had thrown water on it after it caught fire. They both turned to see her, Mom's deep blue eyes widening with alarm and the raider's piercing brown gaze darting from Mom to her in less than a second. Katara's heart seized up in her chest as she stared at the armor clad man.

"Let her go!" Mom cried, "And I'll give you the information you want."

The man's lips, which had been tilted down in a frown before, hardened into a thin line of irritation. "You heard your mother," He barked, "Get out of here!"

Katara trembled, her belly twisting horribly tight as she looked at her mother. Home was supposed to be safe- where else was she supposed to go? What would happen to Mom if she left her here alone with this man? She hadn't noticed it before, but a faint pattern of bruises were already showing up on Mom's neck (where was her necklace?), the finger shaped marks just visible within the confines of her fur trimmed hood. The fear that the man would do her harm was now overpowered by the fear that he was going to hurt Mom. She whimpered. "Mom... I'm scared."

"Go find your Dad, sweetie," Mom commanded firmly, "I'll handle this."

The soft smile Mom gave her did nothing to relieve the escalating fear Katara felt. She looked up at the armor clad man, who was still waiting for her to leave, and met his cold, hate filled eyes. The frozen moment in time seared itself into her memory before she took a tentative step backward and ran back the way she came.

* * *

"Now tell me," The Fire Nation man's gravely voice lowered menacingly as he turned back to Kya, his already tall stature seeming even taller as he drew himself up and stared imperiously down at her. "_Who is it_? Who's the waterbender!?"

_Like hell I'll tell you. _Kya mentally snarled as she glared back, refusing to cower before this monster. _How did you even know there was a waterbender here at all?_

In an instant she realized it could only be from the trade- Hakoda had been asking around for a master to teach Katara. It must have been one of the Earth Kingdom traders who passed along the information. Thankfully, the raiders didn't seem to know _who_ it was they were looking for. Perhaps she could buy some time. "There _are_ no waterbenders left," She replied bitterly, "Your people took them all away a long time ago!"

"You're lying!" He drew within inches of her face, one spidery hand snagging a fistful of her parka while the other cocked back, smoke curling faintly from his fist. She hissed in a combination of fear and defiance. "My sources say there's one waterbender left. We're not leaving until we find them, and we're not afraid of using dirty means to extract the information we want! Either you make this easy, barbarian squaw, or you and your entire village will suffer the consequences, orders or not!"

Outside the walls of the house, Kya could faintly hear the shrieks of other women and children as they too were being interrogated, and the scent and noise of things burning (Spirits, was that the scent of burning hair?) was becoming steadily stronger. The warriors couldn't hold them all off- there were too many soldiers, and all of the warriors were nonbenders going up against highly trained firebenders. It was clear that if she didn't act quickly, even more people were going to die, and Katara's identity would be revealed.

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, her fear melting away as regret took it's place. _Baby, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry..._ "If I tell you, will you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?"

The hand that held her coat loosened and let go. Miraculously, the man tilted his head in a nod.

She closed her eyes, her mind lingering for a single precious moment on her children and her husband. In that one instant, she knew she was never going to see them again. Pain filled her whole being at that prospect, but an iron resolve gave her the strength to utter the words that would draw the wolves away from her family. "..._It's me_. Take me as your prisoner."

She steeled herself as she heard the flickering sizzle of static forming at his fingertips, it's cold blue light glinting off the sharp curves and points of his armor and illuminating his empty smile. "I'm afraid we're not taking any prisoners today."

* * *

Tears that had nothing to do with the cold wind stung Katara's eyes as she ran as fast as her short legs could carry her into the thick of the chaos and noise of the raid all around her. Mom was in trouble, and it was up to her to find Dad and make the monster in the house go away, no matter how horribly afraid she was. The mantra of _find Dad find Dad find Dad_ drummed in her brain to the beat of her footfalls, and soon she was heedless of the violence around her as she fixated on the all consuming need to find Dad's familiar form in a churning sea of reds and blues that filled nearly every lane and path now. _Dad, oh Daddy...where are you?_

"_Katara, _move_!"_

Aang's terrified shout reached her ears seconds before a brilliant burst of flame arched into her path, and it was a very lucky thing that Aang's warning came when it did, or she wouldn't have had the time to dodge the stray blast. She twisted to her left to avoid the blistering hot flames, slipping as she did so and falling on her hands and knees as it shot over her head. Aang was by her side in a second, pulling her up and gripping her shoulders. _"Are you hurt?"_ he asked, his voice pitched a little higher than normal as he quickly scanned her for signs of injury.

"I'm ok," She panted, "don't worry."

"_We've got to get you out of here," _Aang grasped her hand, casting a quick look around at the surrounding melee, "_They're looking for you, I'm sure of it. We can't stand around here out in the open!"_

Katara stubbornly dug her heels in the snow when he tried to make her run with him. "Aang, wait! We've got to find Dad!" She yelled, trying to wriggle her wrist out of his grasp. "Mom's in trouble and we've gotta help her!"

The spirit boy's frightened gaze narrowed slightly in mild annoyance, but he relented and let go of her. "_I think I see him over there."_ Aang said after a moment, pointing Dad out just a few yards away, below the ridge that sheltered Healer Kuthruk's hut. _"Stay close to me, ok? I'll make sure no fire hits you."_

They ran the rest of the way, thankfully no one noticing the small girl dashing her way to her father as Aang used himself as a shield to ward off any fire blasts that might come her way. Katara skidded over to the lip of the ridge just in time to see her father sharply twist a soldier's arm and shove him shoulder deep into the igloo's front wall. "Dad!"

He looked up, his fierce countenance morphing into alarm as he spotted her. "Katara, what are you doing here? Get inside with-"

"_Please_ Dad, come quick!" She pleaded desperately, sliding down the snowbank to his side. "Mom's in trouble! There's a strange man in our house!"

* * *

It was almost pitifully easy slipping out of the Chief's dwelling, as Yan Rha found out. His men had succeeded in fully infiltrating the village, and created more than enough chaos to cover the sound of the last waterbender's demise. He pulled his signal horn from his hip and sounded the retreat call as he darted his way back to the village entrance and to the waiting ship, taking the time to kick aside a wounded elderly barbarian man on his way. They pulled out just as fast as they had arrived, and the biting polar wind at his back carried the cleansing scent of fire and ash as they sailed away.

Today was a good day indeed.

* * *

What they ran home to was like something from a nightmare.

Mom was sprawled on the floor, the nauseating scent of charred flesh hanging heavily in the air and causing Katara to reflexively throw her hands up to her nose. Dad rushed to her side with a strangled cry, turning Mom's limp form over to reveal the horrific lightning strike near her heart. Mom's blank, lifeless gaze seemed to be aimed directly at Katara.

A long moment seemed to hang suspended in eternity, where it felt as if Katara had been plunged underwater and all her senses were muddled. She was unaware of the pained gasp of Aang as he arrived at the scene. She barely heard Dad's choked sobs rapidly morph into loud screams of sorrow and rage. She was aware of nothing at all but her own pain, and she was helplessly drowning in it as she tried desperately to erase the image of Mom's empty, almost condemning stare from her mind. _ No...Mama, no, no, no nononoNoNONO__**NOOOOOO!**_

It was as if a million voices were shrieking along with her in a wordless scream as a blinding, white hot pain and rage filled her bones and seemed to flow out until it filled every bit of her being and extended even beyond herself; lashing out and churning the previously still, tainted air inside their home into a roaring frenzy. Her braid loosened and unbound in the furious wind as she slowly left the ground, the wind carrying her higher while tossing anything lighter than a grown man around the igloo as if they were made of paper. Katara found she really didn't care, not even when she distantly registered that the top of the igloo and the front wall were destroyed in her wrath and that Mom and Dad were somewhere in the middle of the screaming chaos. All she could do was feel, and it was becoming too much for her young mind to process beyond _PainPAIN__**PAIN**__**-**_

A touch.

Someone was touching her.

Katara's hands curled within her gloves as she whipped her head around. Aang's sorrowful gaze met her blinding white one, completely heedless of the violent storm she was generating as he floated up to her level and gasped her shoulders. She trembled with the overwhelming distress and power that coursed through her, and she found she didn't want to fight her friend when he gently tugged her back down to the ground and held her close. _"It's ok, Katara,"_ he murmured brokenly, his voice subtly layered with the whispers of thousands of Avatars before him._"I know what you're feeling, and it _hurts_, I know it does. But I promise you, it'll be ok. You're gonna be ok..."_

He wasn't sure that Katara heard him, but he knew he _had_ to try to calm her down- he remembered what he had been feeling when he saw what happened to his people, and it was going to be too much for the little girl if her pain was amplified by the Avatar State much longer. So he held on, wrapping his arms tighter around her tiny frame and feeling as if he were trying to hug a raging blizzard instead of the sweet little girl he knew and loved. He hadn't realized he started to cry with her until the Avatar State slowly diminished and drained out of her as she wilted against him, the furious windstorm slowly ceasing and the broken debris from the now blasted out dwelling settling back down to the ground in a noisy clatter.

The deathly stillness that followed was broken only by Katara's weak hiccuping sobs, Hakoda's shaky breathing, and the horrified awe of the murmuring crowd gathered outside.

* * *

**Author Note: **What a monster of a chapter! If it was too wordy and confused, I am so sorry. Please, please, if anyone is willing to be a good beta, give me a PM.

This chapter dealt with a heavy issue (death/ethnic cleansing), and I was trying to be as descriptive as possible. In my view, the Fire Nation at this period is very much like WW2 Germany- a racial purity was being preached, all the while the idea of spreading their superior culture in order to better the world ate away a lot of minds until the concept of ethical morality was forgotten in favor of a hollow promise.

The Southern Raiders did not witness Katara go into the Avatar State, in case you were wondering. The other Water Tribe members did, however, and the news is going to spread like wild fire to the members who didn't see her (ie the other village and the ones who were too far away from her home).

Appa's stable is something like the pen that held Naga in Legend Of Korra, only not underground. Thought I'd clarify that.

Healer Kuthruk is a nod to an AvacadoLove's AU Another Brother. Read it if you can, it's a good story!

Part two is coming up soon, and no worries, it'll fill in a few blanks from this chapter as well as kickstart the adventure!


	6. We All Rise Up

**Chapter Three part two: ...We All Rise Up**

"_When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom."_

Sokka_- The Runaway_

* * *

"We need to figure out what to do, now that we have found that the Avatar Spirit has chosen Katara as it's newest incarnation."

The Communal Igloo was uncommonly quiet, save for the soft crackling of the fire in the giant central fire pit, the muted groans of the wounded, and Kanna's quiet words. His fingers paused in their mindless tracing of Kya's soot stained necklace as Hakoda looked away from the fire and blinked dully up at his mother. Just this morning, life was as it should have been- happy and full of work, love, and fellowship. Just an hour ago, however, he had come back from the water burial ceremony where he had bid his final goodbye to Kya before sending her into the arms of _La_, giver of life. His mind was in no shape at the moment for conversations of any kind, but he forced his leaden tongue to move. "What is there for us to do?" He uttered hoarsely at last, dragging a hand over his face as he turned back to watching the flickering flames. "We are doing what we can to survive as a tribe. Katara will have to understand... I have to protect the tribe as well as her. I'm not going to ask for a teacher anymore."

Kanna sighed as she paused in her arrangement of the fur bedding for Hakoda and herself. She flicked a glance at her grandchildren as they slept only a few feet away on the other side of the fire ring, their bodies cuddled together like puppies underneath the tigerseal furs that were drawn up to their ears. After the tragedy had occurred and Kanna and the entire sister village arrived too late, it appeared that not only was the family home destroyed, but also Healer Kuthruk's hut. For now the broken family would share the communal igloo with the fifteen wounded, Kuthruk and his apprentices, and the two other families that were waiting for home repairs as well. It was hard to tune out the quiet, pain filled moans of those who were suffering from their burns, but it appeared that grief had given the children some much needed rest. "Katara needs to learn how to bend sometime, Hakoda." Kanna chided softly, rising up on protesting knees and joining her son by the fire. She grunted in annoyance as her knees popped and ached as she settled herself down again before continuing. "Not just waterbending, but the other three elements as well. She has a purpo-"

"_No_!" Hakoda's voice was sharp, and just loud enough to cause the two to look over at the children to make sure they hadn't stirred. Sokka seemed to have not heard anything at all, but the bundle of fur that made up Katara twitched a little. The adults waited for a few minutes, Hakoda finally pitching his voice lower and speaking once it seemed that the danger of waking his daughter was past. "No. I lost the love of my life to the Fire Nation today, along with nine other innocent women and children- possibly more if anyone here cannot be healed. Don't you see? This was _my_ fault. I wanted to find a master to teach Katara, and it's obvious that one of the traders exchanged the information. Katara will have to teach herself if she wants to learn, but I'm not going to put her or anyone else's safety at risk." He leveled a murderous glare at the fire, his hands trembling even as they curled into fists. His wavering voice unconsciously rose with every word, and Kya's necklace creaked in his tightening grip. "And Avatar or not, I'm not going to allow her to fight the Fire Nation. I can't bear to lose anyone else. The Universe can find someone else to win the war! My baby girl is _not_ going to be it's sacrificial-"

"Listen to me!" Kanna hissed angrily, "_Katara_ was chosen! There isn't anyone else that can be a replacement, it's _her_ destiny! If we don't help her realize her power as the Avatar, than there's no telling what will happen- in both our world and the Spirit Realm." Her tone softened, and she glanced over at Katara's pallet. "She can do this, Hakoda, if she learns now. She can put an end to the suffering, bring peace and balance! The Spirits have bestowed a great honor on her, and by extension, us and our whole tribe. This long and bitter war will finally end."

Hakoda grated out a sigh. Didn't she hear anything he had just said? "Mother, I want her to live a normal life." He bit out, "I won't allow her to be used like a tool for a means to an end! She's too young!" He stood to his feet at last, waving a hand in a clear dismissal as his voice hardened into his authoritative 'chief' tone. "Be gone from me. I won't hear of this again."

Ignoring her son's command, Kanna slowly stood as well, laying a hand on her son's tensed shoulder. "Kya would have wanted it. Peace and balance would be ensured if Katara wins the war, not just for us but for herself too." She whispered. "Don't you want a world free of the Fire Nation's tyranny for your children?"

Hakoda stood, and for the first time in her entire life Kanna was afraid of her son as she met his unnaturally bright eyes, a wild gleam shining in them that wasn't entirely born of the fire's reflection. "Don't you _dare_ bring her into this, Mother! Don't you _dare_ use Kya's name to manipulate me when I've already made up my mind on this!" He locked stares with her, his entire frame trembling under the weight of emotion. "Kya is _dead_ because of Katara, do you understand? Those men raided our tribe for waterbenders before, because they somehow knew that the next Avatar would be born a waterbender! I found that air nomad boy the day Katara was born... I should have realized what that would mean. I should have known what she was, and have her be sent away to the North Pole to be raised and trained!"

"That is grief talking, my son. You don't mean that." Kanna stood her ground, sadly regarding her grieving son. "You know you never would have sent her away to be adopted by someone else. You _love_ her, and you need to show her that this tragedy isn't her fault! She's a child who just lost her mother, Hakoda! Don't distance yourself from your daughter, not when you both need each others support! As Chief, you need to hold your family together before you can hold your community together, you know this! If she heard you say what you just said, she would never forgive you, and neither would Kya!"

The two stared at one another for a long time, Hakoda finally caving underneath his mother's understanding and concerned gaze. "I'm going outside." He murmured at last. "I have a lot to think about."

Kanna bowed her head and sighed as well, turning her back on his retreating figure to arrange their bedding once more. Neither noticed Katara blink back hurt tears before burying herself deeper into the furs.

* * *

The Chief's house was horribly unbalanced in the days to follow.

Being mostly unseen, Aang was privy to what would be the darkest time for the now broken family. Tempers flared, tears were shed, and a lingering black depression settled on the family as they all struggled to adjust to Kya's absence.

It was clear that Hakoda was not doing well without his wife's quiet strength to support him. He hardly spoke to anyone the first few days, much to Sokka and Katara's dismay, and would leave on all day hunting or fishing trips in spite of Kanna's insistence that he step up and lead his grieving tribe and family. (Aang followed Hakoda on the third day out of curiosity, but hurried right back when he witnessed the normally strong and steady man break down out in the middle of the tundra and weep where he thought no one would hear.) Kanna struggled to do all of the work Kya would have normally taken care of alongside her duties as an elder, midwife, and a comforting mother/grandmother. Sokka was lost in trying to figure out what to do with himself (should he cry? Be manly and not show his tears?), and his mood would swing wildly from near random outbursts of rage to depressed silent spells as a result of not allowing himself to grieve properly. As for Katara...

Aang glanced sadly over at his friend as she now tossed and turned fitfully underneath the furs of her pallet. It had soon became clear in the days following the tragedy that Katara had withdrawn deep inside her own mind while she processed her grief (and guilt) over her mother's death, and tried to come to terms with the horrifying experience that signaled her Avatar status. It had been a full week now, and his friend hadn't spoken a single word to him (or anyone, really) since that terrible day. Instead, she- like Sokka- seemed to be at odds with _how_ to mourn and cope properly; and as a result she threw herself into the role her mother left behind and tried to escape the whispers of the tribe with chores and housework. Aang knew it wouldn't work in the long run- he had withdrawn like that too, when he was very young and a boyhood friend at the temple died. Mind numbing work/distractions never really actually solved the problem- it only made you bone tired and left you at square one when all the work was done.

_Too bad I never learned my lesson about running away from problems._ Aang thought guiltily, glancing again at his friend as a soft noise escaped her before her breathing evened out into a deeper sleep. _If I had, Katara wouldn't be dealing with this right now._

Well, he might have died trying to run from his Avatar duty, but he couldn't allow her to repeat the same mistake, even if it was only a mindset instead of actions. She _needed_ someone to help her, just as he had before. Aang had to keep trying to break through to her, because no one else had the time or thought to do so.

It was the very least he could do, seeing how she had helped _him_.

With that in mind, the young monk made his way over to Katara's side, carefully avoiding walking through the others by accident as they slept by the fire. He paused for a moment, wondering if the half formed plan he had in mind was really going to work... or even be the right way to go about it. Entering dreams was something that a past Avatar could do- he had learned how to do it from Roku last year- but had never had a reason to try it. A flash of uncertainty filled him- was it right to invade Katara's privacy like that, even if he was only trying to help?

_I guess there's only one way to find out._ He thought to himself, sinking into a meditative posture beside the little Avatar and closing his eyes. _No one else is helping her. I have to try it._

It was tricky at first, getting inside her dreams. At first he was pushed right out of her mind; he had tried too soon and she hadn't yet entered a deep enough sleep to even start dreaming. The second try proved to be more successful, and soon Aang was opening his eyes to a bright dreamscape ocean filled with delicate honeycomb ice floes that seemed to trap and reflect the brilliant sunshine as they musically tinkled and clinked together in the subtle waves. Elation filled him as Aang tilted his head, taking an interested look around at the surroundings. He noticed with mild surprise that apparently even in dreams he was able to defy nature: the water was something he could walk on top of. His footprints left little rippling trails of light as he made his way through the tranquil landscape Katara's mind provided.

His search for his friend didn't take too long at all; when he spotted her she was only a stone throw away, practicing some (strangely impressive) waterbending as she pattered and twirled on the water's surface in nothing but her night tank and pants. He popped up in front of her with a grin. "Hi Katara!"

Aang's greeting wasn't that loud, but it was enough of a shock in that hushed place for the little girl to scream in her surprise when the spirit boy materialized directly in front of her. She stumbled backward, dropping her bending water as she tripped. She hit the surface with a light splash and disturbed the water around and underneath her, sending her bobbing like a cork on top of the waves she created back towards Aang. The little girl blinked up at him in surprise as he cheerfully held out his hand to help her up. "_Aang_?" She uttered shakily, looking first up at him and then down at the still moving water she sat on top of, noting the school of flying fish swimming underneath her with mild surprise. "What- what are you doing here?"

The spirit boy grimaced, helping her to stand on the unstable surface before sheepishly rubbing the back of his shaven head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He frowned, his initial good mood giving way to his previous concern as he reached out to touch her shoulder. "You haven't spoke to me or anyone in nearly a week. I figured this was the only way I could try to talk to you without having anyone else hear." He studied her, growing more concerned as he noticed her expression dim with the reminder of what happened. "I'm worried about you. I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because you're not, but I want to help you. I hate seeing you sad and hurting."

Katara frowned as well, her gaze dropping to the shimmering water they stood on. She wavered between talking to him or getting mad that Aang interrupted the only good thing she had been concentrating on in nearly a week. She sighed, begrudgingly choosing the first option. Mom wouldn't have gotten mad at _her_ friend for trying to help, after all. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be mean and not talk... I just..."

She trailed off helplessly, and Aang nodded in understanding. "I know." He paused, unsure of what to do next. He looked at the surrounding sea, as if it held the answers for him. "I like your dream. It's peaceful here." He commented, gesturing at the water they both stood on and taking a moment to nudge a sizable chunk of glittering ice away as it drifted towards him and bumped gently against his boot. The two children watched in mild fascination as it left a trail of light through the water as it floated away.

As strange as it sounded, it hadn't occurred to Katara that she was in the middle of dreaming; this particular dream was so real that it was hard to remember that, logically, she couldn't really walk on water that seemed to generate light, or waterbend in the way she had been doing before Aang showed up. It also hadn't really occurred to her that Aang could actually appear inside her dreams and still be real. "I... you really think I'm just dreaming? What if it turns into a nightmare?" She whispered nervously, casting a quick glance around herself to ensure the tranquil sea wasn't going to suddenly change on them. Recent nightmares involved Mom's empty gaze, Fire Nation soldiers, and a scary blood red comet that blazed through a night sky. If at all possible, she was really hoping to escape them tonight.

"If it does, I'll help you out of it." Aang stated, his genial expression turning serious. "That's what I'm here for."

The brightness didn't dim around them, but the mood of the two did. "You... you've always been here." Katara murmured, tugging on a wavy lock of hair pensively. She peeked up at him cautiously. "You were the Avatar before me, weren't you? That's why you're a spirit that only I can see and talk to... it's why you've been _my_ friend, and not someone else's, isn't it?"

Aang flinched. There was no animosity in his friend's words, but the sadness in her tone hurt him just as much as anger would have. He reached out to hug her, but stopped himself at the last minute, too guilty for what had happened. His hand dropped helplessly to his side, and his brownish-gray gaze skittered away from her blue one."I'm sorry for lying to you, and not telling you all the truth. I... I just didn't want you to lose what I lost when I found out that I was the Avatar. I never wanted this to happen to you. I didn't want this for either of us."

The surrounding bits of honeycomb ice tinkled like shards of broken glass strung up on strings, the only noise for a moment as Katara hugged herself and blinked away tears. "Why didn't you _tell_ me I was the Avatar, though?" She wavered brokenly as her tiny head bowed, her long hair falling in waves around her face and hiding her tears. "I- I could have saved Mom, if only I knew what I was and what I could do! Dad hates me now, and everyone but Gran Gran and you are scared of me! I... I'm supposed to be a _hero_. All the stories say so."

Shame filled him to the core. "_I_ wasn't a hero. I'm still not one."

"You are too," Katara mumbled testily, "You saved _me._ And if you still lived, I know you'd be a better Avatar than me."

She _knew_, with every fiber of her being, that if Aang had been the current Avatar instead of her, he would have been doing all kinds of great things for the world- maybe even stopping the Fire Nation monsters for good. The thought made her stomp a tiny bare foot in frustration, splashing and making the surface wavy and unstable again. She and Aang paused to regain their balance before she uttered an irritated sigh. "I don't even know waterbending, and I'm supposed to bend all four elements! Who will teach me if Dad says he won't look for a teacher anymore?"

Aang frowned for a moment before gradually brightening as an idea occurred to him. "I know you want to learn waterbending, and you will," He said slowly, "But... what if you learned airbending first?"

Katara blinked in confusion. "But Aang, I'm not an airbender."

Aang smiled. He wasn't sure why he had never thought of doing this before, but once the idea blossomed and grew in his mind, the more wonderful it sounded. "No, but you're the Avatar, remember? You have what it takes to _become_ an airbender. We've done it before, thousands of times in fact! I can help you learn airbending, _right here_!"

The young nomad's enthusiasm was contagious, and Katara found herself smiling hesitantly for the first time in a week. "You... you'd really teach me that?"

"Of course! I'm the only one who can." Aang looped an arm around her small frame and laughed delightedly. "And the best part? We're inside of your dream! Anything can happen without it being real! I can't bend in reality anymore, being dead and all, but _you_ were bending earlier. Who's to say I can't bend in here too?"

* * *

Aang's idea for bending in Katara's dreams worked... to a point. Aang found, much to his great delight, that he could airbend for the first time since he died, and he showed off some of the more flashy forms just because he could. The downside of it all was he could only show her airbending in action as long as her dream lasted. Both were confused and a little frustrated when Katara accidentally woke herself up in the middle of their first lesson, but it was a big step in the right direction that she was able to watch what an airbender was capable of, and try to do the very beginner forms in the next few days. Along the way, Aang started to teach her about airbending philosophy, starting the moment Katara was able to sneak off and meet him outside the southern wall. Dawn's chilly air and rosy gleam combined with the excitement of learning new things chased away any residual sleepiness the little girl might have felt.

"_Air is the element of freedom." _Aang began, placing himself behind her and making adjustments to how she should stand, and positioning her arms out in front of her. _"It's all around us- and hardly anything can stop it. The only place an airbender can't bend is if they are stuck underground in a tight space, and even then I've seen Monk Tashi bend himself out of a tight squeeze once."_ He snickered, as if remembering something funny.

Katara frowned studiously as she held her arms stiffly out in front of her. "Okay. Freedom. What else should I concentrate on?"

Aang noted her rigidity and nudged her playfully. _"Loosen up! You don't have to concentrate so hard in order to make it work. Now," _He stood in front of her, settling easily into the same stance he had her in, and started circling her with quick, light steps and his hands continually held out in line with her. _"Airbending is all about circular movements, and is probably the most defensive out of all the elements, since it's rarely used in aggression. I'm pretending you are my opponent- try to bend some snow at me."_

"Err... why?"

"_I'm going to show you how hard it is to hit an airbender. Plus,"_ He grinned mischievously, _"It's fun!"_

Katara's waterbending was rather clumsy, but she was capable of sending a good sized wave of snow towards her translucent friend, who- with a grand total of two steps to the left- smoothly evaded her 'attack'. The young monk laughed. _"Good job! Let's try that again!"_

It turned less into a lesson for Katara and more of a game of 'catch the airbender', and soon she lost track of time as they circled round and round in the snow, both momentarily forgetting all about the present grim situation in her family. Amazingly, the young Avatar found herself laughing as she tried again and again to pin the tattooed boy down. "Aang! When's my turn to do that?" She giggled, abandoning all her lessons of circling in place in favor of trying to tackle him.

He twirled around and out of her reach easily, cheered that he had gotten her to laugh. _"When you catch me, of course!" _

The game lasted for a few more minutes, until Katara finally flopped dramatically into the snow with a panting giggle. "I give up! You're too quick." She lifted her head, heedless of the snow that stuck to the back of her bun and braid as she favored him with an almost shy grin. "I haven't had this much fun in a while. Thanks."

"_No problem. It's supposed to be fun."_ Aang settled next to her, smiling up at the warm colors of the morning sun as he remembered something Gyatso had once told him. _"To be a bender, you have to let go of fear and sadness. You gotta feel the energy that freedom and happiness gives you, and let it fill you up until you want to play and dance with the air instead of trying to control it. It's the best way to start learning airbending."_

Katara's grin faltered and fell. Her mind flashed back against her will to the terrifying experience that was the Avatar State, and what had triggered it. Her throat tightened. "But... how do I stop feeling sad and afraid? Mom's been killed because of me, our family is a mess, and I'm trying_ so hard_ to help make it right." She sat up fully, curling her arms around her knees. Her eyes stung in the arctic air as tears pricked at the corners and leaked out. "I don't know _how_ to let it go," she sniffled, the pain filled ache in her young voice unmistakable. "I miss her, Aang! All I want is for things to be back the way they were, before I found out I was the Avatar, and before the Fire Nation came! I want her back... and she's _gone_. For good."

She buried her face in her knees, sinking lower in her previously forgotten misery. It was Aang's gentle tone and touch that prompted her to look back up at him. "_You know..." _He murmured,_ "not too long ago someone told me that when someone dies, it's just their body that dies. Their spirit lives on, and someday you'll get to see them again, because death-"_

"-isn't the end." Katara's tone and smile were watery as she leaned into his waiting arms, residual tears tightening her throat as she buried her face in his chest. "So... I'll see her again? For real?" She wondered hopefully, her tear thickened voice muffled by the fabric of his shawl, "It's not just Avatars who still live after they die?"

His arms tightened around her, and he had to repress a shiver at the idea of her dying at all. He gulped down the instinctive fear, reminding himself of whole point of the conversation before helping his friend up. _"You'll see your Mom again someday."_ He promised quietly as they turned to go back home, _"And the best part about 'someday'... is that then, it becomes 'forever'._"

* * *

It took a long time, but eventually, life evened out and a new normal was established. Frankly, everyone in the chief's house missed the _old_ normal, but finally everyone was starting to become adjusted.

In the three and a half years that followed, Hakoda feverishly set to work; that first night, he had come to the (admittedly vengeful) decision that the Southern Water Tribe should take a stand and join the war. Kya and nine other women and children were brutally murdered, and Hakoda was bound and determined that this raid would be the last.

He gave himself a few years to help prepare his Tribe. After gaining the approval of the elders and the warriors, he trained his men more vigorously than ever, and he saw to it that he had a proper fleet of battle capable umiak. In addition, he took the time to take Sokka to hunt and fish more often, and even took the boy out on a ceremonial hunting trip on his thirteenth birthday for the monstrous _Akhlut_ just last month. Spending more time with his father did wonders for Sokka as he struggled to adjust both to Kya's absence and the disturbing fact that his little sister was an all powerful reincarnated figure of legends. Hearing words of affirmation and keeping his hands busy steadied the mood swings until they stopped completely, and Sokka found that he didn't hurt so bad after a while, even if the pain never fully went away. Katara neatly filled Mom's moccasins the more she grew, and Sokka would find after a time that as annoying as her weird new bending was, (and her even weirder habit of openly talking to her invisible, not so imaginary friend), he started to rely on her stability just as much as his father's.

In turn, spending time with his family as best as he could did much in helping Hakoda heal as well, even if a lot of the time spent with his son was to teach him everything a man needed to know out in the harsh wilds of the South Pole. Katara seemed a little more distant and cool with him than anyone else, to his mild disappointment, but he chalked it up to the new changes in her life and the fussy preteen age she had recently entered into. He had no idea that Katara had heard him that first night, and she had never forgotten what he had said in his grief, even if he himself had. He never knew that he needed to apologize and clear the air between them, and tell her that Kya's death wasn't her fault.

No one liked to remember that horrible time. The trouble was, that was the time everyone in the Southern Tribe had discovered their new Avatar, and speculation on what to do about Katara was on everyone's lips since then:

Should she be sent away to the North Pole to train?

How in the world would the child be trained in firebending? _Should_ she be trained in firebending at all?

Was what she announced at the Moon Festival two years ago really true, that she could see and speak to the Avatar before her?

Was the previous Avatar really the one who gave Katara her sudden ability to airbend?

Was Hakoda going to keep her sheltered here until she was of age, or until she mastered airbending, or both?

Question after question was posed to the Chief since the first week of mourning was over, and (too soon) Hakoda could no longer use the '_she's too young'_ excuse. It was clear that Katara was growing up fast, and the war was only escalating. This year's Spring Trade had just ended, and he had heard disturbing rumors from many of the Earth Kingdom merchants of the Fire Nation's advancement, and the disheartening news from the oldest and most reliable merchant that this trade would be the last one they could afford to make until things became more settled. _"We're sorry, Chief Hakoda. The Southern Raiders have patrolled the waters near Whale Tail Island for years, but another part of the Fire navy is coming as close as the Chin and Kyoshi Island region, and rumor has it that it'll completely cut off our trade routes with anyone further south." The gray haired trader shrugged helplessly. "For the record, this is bad for us too, and we'll be missing the goods you've provided us all these years. Perhaps the Fire Nation will leave once it becomes more quiet..." _

Hakoda fully understood the consequences this news meant for him and his tribe, as well as for the traders. The traders had been the only thing letting the family's giant sky bison stay in the south pole, and with the harsh southern summer coming on, the seals would be migrating in a few week's time and so would the whales. It seemed that fate was forcing his hand, and he tried to explain as much to his children after he got back from the tribal council meeting that determined the day he and the men would leave.

"But why _now_?" Sokka cried, waving the boomerang he was sharpening in dismay, "Spring is here, and summer isn't too far off. How will we survive if you take all the hunters with you?"

Katara stirred the pot of five spice stew she was tending to with a frown of her own. "What if the Fire Nation comes back when you're gone? " she worried aloud, "Who will fight them off?"

"That's the whole point of leaving, Katara," Hakoda explained as patiently as he could, "To protect you all. If we are busy drawing their attention and opening up the trade route, they can't come here. They won't notice if you and Sokka take Appa and leave."

His words stunned everyone in the hut, from his children- Katara freezing mid stir, and Sokka's whet stone falling from his limp fingers- to Aang, who studied the Chief with cautious hope. Kanna was the only person unaffected by her son's announcement, as she had been one of the approving elders at the tribal council. She nodded for him to go on.

Hakoda stood, meeting his children's eyes. "I'm saying that it's time we reestablished ties with our sister tribe. We need help rebuilding everything the war has destroyed over the years." He met his daughter's confused gaze and offered her a tentative smile laced with sorrow. "...And I've come to realize that it's time the Avatar learned her native element."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright! Emotional healing is in motion, Katara's learning airbending and gaining necessary skills she needs, and time in the South Pole is drawing to a close. At last we will see our heroes officially start their journey north!

Sorry about how long it was between the updates- moving takes a _huge_ chunk of time, as do the holidays. This was a beast of a chapter too, for some reason. Perhaps it was all the emotional drama I had to write... that seems take a lot out of my creative writing when I have to focus on that. Katara needed to get a hold of the lesson she had taught Aang in the previous chapter, and that in turn led to the lessons airbending philosophy held about letting go. Her hurt over what her father said is going to be a long lasting wound, though, and it'll come back up later, probably during early season three's time frame.

As for Sokka's emotional healing, I haven't purposely ignored him. We'll get into his head in the upcoming chapters a bit more, I promise! I just didn't want more angst than necessary for two chapters in a row. As a side note, Sokka's hunt for the Akhlut is a direct nod to Plumbloom's 'Run'.

Katara's dream was supposed to signify several things: The calm ocean and light filled ice was a visual representation of what she wanted for herself, a calm, peaceful place full of warmth, water, and light where she could be herself; the waterbending and her unbound hair and night clothes also signified her innermost identity. Sometimes when people are grieving, their minds will either provide nightmares or something soothing; this time I chose to have Katara unconsciously trying to comfort herself when Aang finally stepped in.

Aang's fears about Katara dying haven't fully gone away, and it's something that'll pop up now and then through the story. This is also his journey, and his attachment issues will be his biggest hurdle to get over, just like in canon.

So, to recap for ages: Sokka has just turned thirteen and is in the grips of puberty, and Katara has recently turned twelve.


	7. The Southern Air Temple

**Chapter Four:** **The Southern Air Temple**

"_You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope, but you brought it back to life, my little waterbender. __"_

Kanna to Katara,_ The Avatar Returns_

* * *

Preparations for the departure of the warriors and for the Avatar were swiftly set into motion, and all too soon the day to leave had finally arrived. Aang was jubilant that they were _finally_ leaving the South Pole after twelve years (he'd be able to see more than snow and the too few southern winter camp trees and grass!), and Appa seemed more than ready to fly longer distances than a few miles at a time if his bellowing roars and stomping feet were any indicator. Katara was excited, but more to the point where she felt like she was going to throw up with all her conflicting emotions. She was going to see the world, like she had always wanted to! But Gran Gran... Gran Gran would be alone with the few remaining elders, women, and the small children that were left in their village. Only their neighboring village could be called upon for any assistance, and most of _their_ able bodied men were going too. How long would everyone have to wait for aid to arrive from literally the other end of the world? Weeks? Months?

The young Avatar couldn't help feeling guilty for putting her in that position, but the elderly woman put her at ease as the two made their way out of the village gates and to the beach, where Appa and all the warriors were waiting. "Katara, don't worry about me and the others. We've done well enough on our own before, and we'll do well enough in the time you're gone. As the Avatar, you have a destiny, and a purpose greater than what the South Pole can offer you." She paused to wrap her arms around the girl, giving her a surprisingly firm squeeze. "I know you'll be a great Avatar." She murmured, "But the world is a dangerous place. Be cautious and take care, my little waterbender."

Katara gulped back a wave of tears. It was ridiculous how easily she could be provoked to cry, and she scolded herself for being a baby about going away. She put on a brave face in spite of the tears, and a small smile spread across her face as she hugged Gran Gran back. "I'll be sure to be careful, and get to the North Pole as soon as I can." She promised. "I'll make you proud, Gran Gran."

A few yards away Sokka stood by Appa's side, watching the exchange between his sister and grandmother as he hoisted his sleeping bag up into the saddle alongside the other supplies needed for the trip. It was easy to see that Katara's inborn curiosity about the world was winning over her deep seated loyalty to her home (last night she couldn't stop going on about it), but when he asked himself what _he_ thought about all this, he found that aside from his underlying excitement over it all, he already felt homesick. Would the North be anything like home? Would he fit in as a warrior, despite his youth? What if Dad was sending them away because he thought Sokka wasn't fit to fight with the other men?

When he told his father his doubts, Dad waved them off with a gentle smile. "Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that's staying with your sister." He reminded his son, "You are not only acting as her protector, but you are acting as our Tribe's representative when you arrive at the North Pole." Taking the last heavy pack by their feet, he swung it up into the saddle with a grunt, pausing to pat Appa's flank affectionately before turning and grasping Sokka's shoulder. His eyes were suspiciously bright, but his voice was steady, and the small smile didn't waver. "Take care of your sister, Sokka. She'll need you more than you know. The world's a big place, and it's easy to let your guard down around wolves disguised with sealskin. Not everyone has the same loyalty to the Avatar as we do, and not everyone has the integrity we prize here. Just be mindful, and things will be just fine." He grasped Sokka's forearm in a traditional warrior's shake before pulling him into a hug. "I have faith in you, son." He murmured, "I'll miss you."

Sokka coughed, cursing the tightness in his throat. "I'll make you proud, Dad. I'll miss you too."

Hakoda straightened, patting Sokka's shoulder and gesturing for his son to climb up into the saddle before turning to say his goodbye to his waiting daughter. They regarded one another for an awkward moment before Hakoda cleared his throat. "I know you've heard this from your grandmother already, but I want you to be careful. Being the Avatar, you can't afford to be discovered before your time... and I can't afford to lose another person dear to me."

She nodded solemnly, reaching out and hugging her father around his waist. Hakoda's grip on his emotions wavered as he held her close, sudden anxiety over sending his children out alone hitting him square in the chest. He tightened his hug momentarily before releasing her and looking her in the eye. "I'm proud of what you've been able to accomplish in such a short time, and under such stressful times. Your mother would be so proud to see you now." He reached inside his belt and pulled out his parting gift for her. "I know things haven't been easy, and pressure is strong for you as the Avatar, but you're stronger. I know that with all I am, and your mother knew it too, even if she never fully realized that you were the Avatar. I think she'd like you to have this."

Blue eyes widening, Katara gasped as her father held out Mom's necklace. The carved moonshell pendant gleamed clean and bright in the sun, and the previous plain blue silk ribbon was replaced with a fresh navy one. Hakoda gestured for her to lift her braid as he fastened it on for her, and nodded in approval as he stepped back to look at her. She fingered it reverently, though the weight and fit of it on her neck would take some getting used to.

He nudged her towards Appa before she could say her thanks, smiling tightly and unwilling to shed anymore tears this day. "Go on now. We're counting on you two!"

Katara climbed on Appa, feeling the anxious energy course through the bison as she settled into the wide saddle. She met Sokka's hesitant gaze, and Aang's joyful one, and found herself feeling giddy with excitement. With Aang's cheerful _"yip yip!", _the bison's strong tail swung downward, and with a billowing _swoosh_ of air and snow, they were airborne. The siblings leaned over the edge of the saddle to watch the tribe they knew and loved grow smaller, the last discernible thing they could spot on Dad and Gran Gran's faces were bittersweet smiles of pride before they grew into specks, and at last faded from view as they passed through a cloud and set out over the sea.

* * *

As far as journeys went, flying on Appa was a great deal faster and more convenient than paddling a canoe or sailing in an umiak. It was only a few hours into their flight when mountains became visible, the craggy peaks shrouded in misty clouds. Sokka and Katara peered ahead with some wonderment (mountains were always avoided in the South, as they were inhospitable), and Appa bellowed a roar of excitement. Aang stared at them with a bittersweet fondness._ "We're getting close to the Patola Mountain Range, guys!"_ He called from his perch on Appa's head, _"We'll have to stop for the night near the Southern Air Temple." _His expression dimmed a bit, longing to see the Temple fighting with the regret and shame he felt over what he knew had happened there. It was his hesitancy to actually see the damage wrought on his beloved home that eventually prompted him to avoid actually going there. _"You think you guys have enough food to get to the Earth Kingdom? The closest would be Kyoshi Island, if the map is right, about three days away. If not, we'll find some fruit trees if we can- the Monks would plant peach, cherry, and apple trees along our flying routes, and the mountain range's end is pretty close to the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom."_

Katara mulled it over. Fruit sounded good and the urge to hurry northward was strong, but... "Why not just camp at the Air Temple itself, Aang?" She wondered aloud, "I mean, it would probably have more fruit trees than on the way, right? And it'd be more sheltered than sleeping out in the open, with the weather getting colder. Besides," She studied him for a moment, noting his hesitancy, "Don't you want to see the place where you grew up again?"

"As long as they have food, I'm okay with it." An unfazed Sokka called from the back of the saddle, studying the map Dad had given him and ignoring his sister's one sided conversation for the time being. Katara scowled at him before turning to Aang when the spirit boy cleared his throat nervously. _"I... I'm not sure it's a good idea. Other than the stables, there's no place for Appa, and I'm sure you don't want to sleep in a stable." _

His excuse fell limp as a wet noodle, and Katara sighed at his transparency. "Come on," She wheedled, "I'm still mastering airbending! Wouldn't it be good for my education to see an actual Air Temple? Maybe there are other nomads there, and they've just been hiding this whole time!"

Aang scowled at her in irritation. She didn't understand. She hadn't seen what the comet enhanced attack on the Temples did. He was told that he was the very last one to survive, and now he too had died- it was the whole reason he was going to be given another chance to live if Katara succeeded, to rebuild his extinct culture and ensure the Avatar Cycle would continue. There would be no one there at the Temple to greet them, no familiar saffron and orange robes, no fruit pies, no laughter of young and old monks as they watched a lively game of airball. It was hopeless to think that they were waiting for him. It was all gone; like seeing brittle, dead autumn leaves and remembering their vibrant green sheen during the summer, and the thought made Aang even more resistant of the idea of visiting.

Katara only grew more curious, however, and as a result they quarreled about it most of the evening, even when Aang stubbornly landed Appa at the foot of the mountain that the Temple was built on and threatened to go take a trip into the Spirit World until she stopped asking to go. Sokka finally groaned aloud as he was left alone to set up camp by himself. Three and a half years of watching his sister openly talk to her invisible, magical previous life had made him (mostly) immune to the weirdness of it all, but sometimes it got to be a little tiresome... arguments and deep, meaningful conversations chief among them. After the top of the tent drooped onto his head for the fourth time in a row, he whirled around to face 'them' with an aggravated growl. "Katara, I know you're busy arguing with your invisible, inaudible friend, but I could use some help here!"

"Sorry." Katara ducked her head sheepishly, though she traded an annoyed look with Aang before the two stomped off in a huff and started helping out.

They soon lost themselves in their work; Sokka was halfway through the tent set up already, and soon with Katara's help it was assembled and they were able to spread out the sleeping bags inside. Aang arranged the bags and baskets before pulling out his grooming brush for Appa and set to work brushing the flying bison down after the long flight (only asking for Katara's assistance once, since he could no longer airbend the heavy saddle down to the ground himself). The post flight ritual was therapeutic, and did much in calming Aang down. As he watched Katara scurry around the camp making preparations (and occasionally reminding Sokka that the blubbered seal jerky was not supposed to be eaten all in one sitting), he started reconsidering his earlier decision.

She was right, in a way. Seeing the Temple would be necessary for her airbending education, and it would be great to see if they could find some airbending scrolls intact... maybe even a glider or a pair of metal fans, as the only thing they had been able to use in place of a staff was a longish stick they'd found last year, during the warmer winter months spent in the berry picking grounds. The stick was okay, but it was clumsy in her hands and it wasn't fully straight, making the precise nature of airbending with a staff pretty much a moot point when she continually missed her targets. They had left it in their haste to pack up for the journey north, and now the idea of visiting the Temple was proving to be more of a temptation. Frustrated, Aang buried his face in Appa's flank with a groan. _Why is this so hard?_

It was the sound of Katara's soft, contrite voice a half hour later that eventually prompted him to look up. To his surprise, it was already dark, and the shadows hid most of his friend's expression as she stood awkwardly before him. "Aang... I'm sorry for earlier. I thought about it, and I guess it's kinda selfish to want to go. I didn't think about how _you_ would feel, seeing the Fire Nation's attack on your home." Her slender fingers fidgeted with her mother's necklace, her mouth tilted down in a frown. "Plus... I hate it when we argue. I don't like it."

"I don't like it either, you guys weird me out every time it happens!"

"Shut up, Sokka! I'm trying to apologize!"

"_It's okay, Katara."_ Aang stood, making his way over to Sokka's merrily crackling fire, beckoning her to follow and sit next to him. As she settled next to him he silently fidgeted with a twig, twirling it in his fingers before tossing it into the flames, watching with sadness as the slender offshoots curled and disintegrated into a few unrecognizable wisps of ash in a matter of seconds. He looked up at Katara as the wind carried the little ashes and embers away, and she seemed appropriately subdued by his morose mood. "_You have to understand... I remember what it was like there when it was untouched. I'm not saying we _can't_ go, because it would be good for you to see the Temple... but..."_

Katara grasped his shoulder. "I understand. I won't push it."

"Won't push what?"

"Seeing the Temple." Katara accepted the jerky bag as Sokka held it out, making a face at the five remaining pieces in mild annoyance before selecting a stout piece and continuing. "Aang says it's not going to be the same as when he was there a hundred years ago." Her gaze slid over to regard a hunched over Aang even as she continued speaking to Sokka. "He said that there's no airbenders left in the world at all... no one will be there to greet us if we go."

Sokka munched on his seventh stick of jerky thoughtfully. "You know, I've never really thought about it- your invisible friend being, you know, _alive_ at one point and living somewhere else other than with us." He awkwardly studied the spot Katara had been looking at, where he assumed the spirit boy might be. He grimaced, feeling strange talking to Katara's invisible past life. "Sorry Aang."

"_It's okay."_ Aang grinned and straightened up, the altogether too rare time of being spoken to by someone other than Katara (and being apologized to at that!) chasing away some of the gloom, even though he knew Sokka couldn't hear his reply. _"Being dead isn't all that bad, but I do miss eating food... well, vegetarian food anyway." _He eyed the jerky distastefully.

Katara laughed, relaying what Aang said back to her brother, who looked a little mournful. "No food for twelve years! I feel for you, man. But meat's _man's_ food, you know. Don't be knocking good food like jerky here! Veggies are _rabiroo_ food!"

His mood elevated, Aang glanced up into the dark shadows of dusk that held the silhouette of his boyhood home thoughtfully. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all, if he went with his friends. And maybe, just maybe, there would be some closure for himself as well.

* * *

"You were right about the fruit trees, Aang! I should have brought another basket."

Aang's smiling countenance was a good thing to wake up to in the morning, Katara found out, especially when she had felt a little disoriented in where she was at first. Sokka seemed to be a little homesick too, especially when he found that breakfast wasn't going to happen due to his raiding the jerky bag again before going to bed. (There was a few dried bundles of seaweed noodles and a braided loaf of bread, but Katara was bound and determined to save them in case they couldn't find anything else over the course of the next few days.) Fortunately, as they made their way up the mountainside, Katara spotted the red gleam of sheepnose apples peeping out from beneath their small, olive green leaves, all perfectly ripe for the picking. (Good thing too; the other fruit trees were on the tail end of bearing and not much was available on the trail so far.)

Sokka was currently praising the virtues of late bearing apple trees as he scarfed the fruit down, and Aang was amusing himself by hanging upside down by his knees on a branch, dangling comically in front of Katara. "_See? Told you the Monks were thoughtful."_ He grinned, _"Cherries would ripen first, then peaches, and then the apples before snow set in. Most of the year we were able to make fruit pies and sell them for money to buy necessities, and then give any left overs for charity."_

"Sounds yummy." Katara grinned, biting into an apple and securing the basket's flip down lid over the rest. She wondered if trading between the Air Nomads extended to the Southern Water Tribe. Delicacies like fruit pies (heck, fruit a_nything) _would have sold like hot cakes back home.

Bending a cushion of air under herself, the young Avatar propelled herself with a spiraling twirl into Appa's saddle and set the basket in the corner where it wouldn't easily tip over. She ignored the startled shriek of her brother as Aang laughingly shook a branch over Sokka's head, pelting her brother with apples. "Hurry up you two! The sooner we go, the sooner we can see the Temple!"

Picking a twig out of his wolf tail, Sokka climbed aboard as well, muttering curses under his breath about apples and invisible spirit boys. "Why are you so intense on seeing this place? Aang already said it was abandoned."

"Well, think of it! We'll be some of the only outsiders to see this place, and it'll be fun to see everything that he's been telling me about." She crossed her arms with a self righteous sniff. "Plus, it's going to be an _educational_ thing. For my Avatar training."

"Of _course_ it is." He drawled sarcastically.

"_Actually, she's right."_ Aang floated up to Appa's head and flicked the reins. Appa took off, carrying them from the mountain path and up into the shrouded heights that hid the Temple. _"The Avatar needs to become acquainted with all the world's cultures! We'll sneak in some airbending training before we head out, and try to find out if we can salvage anything for later."_ He frowned lightly. _"I wonder if the library survived."_

* * *

As it turned out, it did not.

Aang knew intellectually that not much would have survived the attacks he had seen in the vision, but it was an entirely different thing seeing it up close and personal. Apparently, Sozin hit this Temple very hard- after nearly a century, the children could see the effects of the devastating attack. The walls were pockmarked, the vast collection of sacred scrolls and texts had long since been burned to ash, and in protected alcoves scattered bits of bones and pieces of armor could be seen. Even the airball court had evidence of destruction, with armor and helmets littering the grounds. Katara's prior enthusiasm had died a swift, merciless death, and Sokka was grim faced and subdued as they explored the once vibrantly alive place. Aang could barely choke out the descriptions on each spot they visited, and he just about lost it altogether when he showed them Gyatso's statue. He lingered by his beloved mentor's likeness in silence, not noticing if the others had left without him or not as he stared at Gyatso's serene expression, so very real in the slightest upward tilt of his lips. _I never said goodbye to him. _He thought, shame and tears constricting his throat and clouding his vision._ And I'm forbidden to look for him or the others in the Spirit World until Katara wins the war. He might never know how much I loved him... he might never know how much I regret not saying goodbye to him properly. _

"Aang?"

He looked up, only mildly surprised to see Katara had stayed by his side even while Sokka had long since wandered off. The girl wrapped an arm around him. "Come on. The quicker we get through this place, the sooner we can leave this behind."

Aang sucked in a steadying breath, grasping her hand and lowering it off his shoulder. The young monk reminded himself not to snap at her- she was trying to look out for him. It hurt, but if they stuck around much longer he was not going to be of any use at all, no matter how much time he needed to grieve. He willed himself to walk and not run away from the venerable stone monk's compassionate gaze. _"I think there's one last place we need to check out before we leave. The library and scriptorium been destroyed, but maybe the room behind the sacred doors is still untouched."_

"Sacred doors?"

They passed a courtyard down below, the intricate looking spiral shapes within the tiles catching Katara's interest for a moment. Aang nodded. "_Yeah, it was a room that was sealed off by these super thick doors, and it can only be opened by a Master airbender. I was told that I was going to meet someone there, just before I ran away, so I guess it has something to do with the Avatar." _

"Wow." Katara sounded awed, "You think that the someone who you were supposed to meet is still there?"

"_I don't think the person was alive..."_ He mused aloud, gesturing for Katara to airbend herself up to the archway above their heads as he effortlessly floated up, nodding his approval as she landed lightly on her feet. "_I've been thinking about it for a while, and if it's an Avatar room, perhaps I was supposed to meet Avatar Roku."_ It was now a moot point for both young Avatars, seeing as he had met Roku upon dying and Katara was currently talking to _him_, but something in Aang desperately needed to see if there was _anything_ left of his boyhood home undisturbed.

As they finally stood in front of the doors, Katara darted forward to study them, her curiosity awakened. "Wow! Look at all the carvings! How long do you think they spent carving these panels?" She ran a slim, dusky hand along the weather smoothed surface, marveling at how very tall and thick the doors were. _Goodness, where did anyone find the trees for the wood?_ She wondered in awe,_ They must have been enormous!_

Aang couldn't help but feel cheered up by his friend's reaction. He chuckled a little. "_I don't know. The doors and the room has been here for over a thousand years, or so I was told. I'd have to ask some of the others if they remember them."_

Katara tilted a curious glance at him. "Others?"

"_Our past lives."_ Aang elaborated, sweeping his arms out wide. _"There's literally over a thousand of them, Katara! The Avatar cycle goes back over 2,500 years, you know. There must have been other Avatars who grew up here at the Southern Temple, and dozens more who came here to learn airbending when their time came. Roku learned airbending here, after all."_

Katara repressed a shiver at the idea of the Avatar ever being born into the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation was made up of monsters. Surely there was no such thing as a good man coming from _there_.

She looked over the doors once more, shaking off the disturbing thought. "So... only a Master Airbender can open them? How will we get inside? I'm not a Master yet!"

"_Well, no, you aren't yet," _Aang conceded, "_But that's because you haven't learned any of the staff or fan forms. For raw airbending talent, you've improved in leaps and bounds! I'd say that in regular weaponless airbending, you're getting very close to mastering it." _

She blushed, looking down at her mukluks with a shy smile. "You really think so?"

"_Sure I do! Now,"_ He lowered himself into a stance, his arms held out in front of him in demonstration, "_You'll need to direct two strong airblasts into these openings here." _He nodded to the two tsungi horn shaped pieces, "_And you need to keep it perfectly steady! Just keep blasting until you see the panels rotate into place. Okay?" _

He moved, and Katara took his place. Sucking in a deep, centering breath, she thrust out her arms with a sharp "_Ha_!", and put all her energy into maintaining the gale force currents coming from her hands. Her efforts were rewarded after a few moments with a sharp _clack!_ as the first panel rotated and clicked into place, and then the second. Her control was on the verge of wavering when the final piece rotated into place; and the doors made a heavy, settling _Ka-chunk!_ sound that startled her out of her bending before slowly swinging open with a creaking groan. Aang pumped a fist in the air, cheering "_Way to go, Katara!" _while Katara blew out a breath and grinned at the evidence of her skill level. Aang grasped her hand, excitement filling him for the first time today as he peered into the great room. _"Come on, this place has been completely untouched! Let's go check it out!"_

Katara allowed herself be led inside, and as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she saw the reason for Aang's excitement.

Statues- hundreds of them- filled the widely spacious room, all different and all life size, lined up in the classic elemental pattern. Katara drew a breath of wonderment, craning her head to see the statues that spiraled up to the indiscernible ceiling. She turned to her friend, astonished. "Aang... this is _amazing_! Are _all_ of these our past lives?"

He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes as he stared at the empty space next to Roku's statue. _"Yep. Everyone is here but me... and you, of course."_

"There's so many of them! And all of them were real live people, all with their own stories." The Water Tribe girl stared at the stoic looking men and women who had come before her, her awe slowly melting away and uncertainty replacing it. "I suppose they've all done amazing things- thousands of times over. How...how am I ever going to live up to that?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head. _"Just ask Kuruk about doing great things- he left the world alone and didn't do anything special as the Avatar. Heck, look at me! I failed. And there's others who have failed before me."_ He offered a tentative smile at her. _"But for what it's worth, I _know_ you'll be an amazing Avatar. Probably better than most of us past Avatars combined!"_

Whether she too would fail in the end, or become one of the youngest to ever become a fully realized Avatar, it was hard to say at this point. But as Aang saw the reassured smile spread on his friend's pretty features and brighten the darkness, he was certain that he wasn't wrong.

* * *

_Three Days Later, At Another Temple..._

The soft morning light filtered through the magnificent, upside down spires of the Western Air Temple, and a light breeze teased the crimson robes of the man who stood at the edge of one of the spacious courtyards. "What a stunning view!" He enthused, beholding the sight of dawn kissed mountains dotted with trees and veiled in a light glowing mist. General Iroh had seen many things in his life, but for a moment he envied the nuns who had once lived here. What a sight to behold, every morning! What he wouldn't give for the freedom they must have felt, for himself... but especially for Zuko.

He turned to his nephew, who glared at the morning sky as if it offended him. The thirteen year old's back was ramrod straight, and it was apparent that gentle cajoling was not going to help the young Prince relax. "The only view I'm interested in is the Avatar in chains." He snarled, his young voice raspy from his recovery over the fever he had suffered on the way over. The blow the Fire Lord had dealt him was finally rid of any contaminants that would cause infection and was securely wrapped up now, and the retired General was more fussy than ever about keeping it clean. He regarded the angry young man sadly. "You know, the Avatar hasn't been seen in nearly a hundred years. The chances of finding him- or her- here are very slim."

The lack of stately women and giggling little girls here were a testament to that.

In spite of his words, Zuko was determined to start the search immediately. "First we'll check each of the air temples, and then we'll scour the rest of the world, searching in even the most remote locations!"

"Prince Zuko... it's only been a week since your banishment." Iroh gently tried again, "You should take some time to heal and rest."

After the fateful Agni Kai, Ozai had piled further humiliation upon his son by banishing him; sending him off in one of the oldest warships outfitted with ex-criminals, a doctor, a few petty officers, and a loyal lieutenant for a crew within the hour. Before they had set sail, Ozai had given the boy a joke of a chance at redeeming himself: find the Avatar and bring him back. Only then could Zuko regain his rightful standing as heir to the throne, and his honor. Iroh knew it wouldn't happen- the White Lotus had been conducting their own search for years, and have finally given up twenty years ago. Despite the fact the airbending Avatar was very likely dead and even the cycle itself might be broken by now, his nephew took his father's ultimatum seriously.

Zuko turned to him with a sneer. "What else would I expect to hear from the _laziest_ man in the Fire Nation?" The Prince turned back to regard the distant mountains, ignoring his uncle's sigh. "The only way to regain my honor is to find and capture the Avatar... so I _will_. If I have to, I'll send every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him!"

A knowing smile spread over the retired general's face, and he clasped a hand on the boy's shoulder. Perhaps this banishment wasn't quite the punishment that Ozai had intended. "You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind, and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Guh, SO glad to get this chapter out of the way (and so glad to get Zuko's introduction established)! Had to rip this one quick like a band aid, since the Southern Air Temple is a necessary chapter but a long and (I'm afraid) rather boring one. So Sorry! Now we can go on forward with the journey!

Originally I was going to have Sokka and Katara find more bones than what was showed, but my husband reminded me that bones out in the open won't last for a century. So, less angst for you guys than necessary, ha ha. More humor to come in the next chapter, with the addition of Momo (yes, I haven't forgotten him and Sokka) and the arrival at Kyoshi Island!


	8. The Island of Kyoshi: Part One

**Chapter Five: The Island Of Kyoshi, Part One**

"_Did you hear the news? The Avatar is on Kyoshi!"_

Little girl, _Warriors of Kyoshi_

* * *

"Can't Appa go _any_ faster?"

Katara's narrowed glare from the front of the saddle did little to faze Sokka, even as she waggled her whalebone needle at him. "You could stand to be a little more patient. It was impatience that got you in this mess, remember? Besides," She glanced back down at the navy pair of pants she was mending with a slight smile, "Do you want to arrive too soon on Kyoshi Island with a big, gaping hole in your crotch for everyone to see?"

Aang sputtered a laugh from his perch on Appa's head at her indelicate wording, and Sokka let out a cry. "That was not my fault! The little monstrosity was going for my eyes!" He sulked as he scooted over to the rolled up sleeping bags and used them to shield his bare legs from the stinging wind. "It's a lucky thing the pants were the only thing that got ripped apart!"

The 'little monstrosity' in question happened to be a flying bat lemur that had inexplicably decided to attach himself to the Water Tribe boy back at the Southern Air Temple. Aang and Katara had been inside the Inner Sanctuary for a long time before they had realized that Sokka still hadn't shown up, and just as soon as they set out to look for him they had heard him shouting. Running towards the sound of his startled cries, they found the flying lemur wriggling out of a traumatized Sokka's tunic with a pilfered apple in it's mouth. The hilarity of the scene prompted the two young Avatars to forget about their sadness and fear for the time being, something that was sorely needed after their depressing tour of the Temple. It seemed that Momo (so named by Aang for the creature's apparent fondness for the last of the moon peaches that grew in the orchards) was going to be a permanent pet, despite all of Sokka's attempts to discourage him from following them.

The incident that had involved the pants was simply a fight over breakfast earlier that day, and Momo purred happily as he gazed at the sulking Sokka with guileless green eyes and munched on another sheepnose apple from atop the basket. In short, everything had returned more or less to normal, and the late afternoon sunlight shone and sparkled beautifully on the water as they headed towards their first _real_ destination.

Sewing, while not her most favorite thing to do, gave her time to think about everything Aang had said to her back at the Air Temple. It was reassuring that he thought so highly of her and her abilities, even when she was so unsure of herself and her Avatar status. Maybe... maybe she _could_ pull this whole Avatar thing off. Like Gran Gran said, wise elders always started off as silly children, and that becoming wise and knowledgeable took time and experience. If this trip to the North Pole didn't offer some experience and take time, she didn't know what would. _And maybe I'll be able to work more on my waterbending before we get there,_ she thought to herself, the needle flashing up and down as she methodically stitched up the last of the tears, nearly done with her seam. _Maybe I can apply airbending moves to waterbending and create whole new forms! They both have a flow to them, after all. Wouldn't that impress my future master!_

"How much _longer_, Katara?"

She set her work down with a huff, her self indulgent visions of creating new waterbending forms obliterated by Sokka's petulant whine. "Maybe if you want it done so badly, you should do it yourself." She snapped, irritated.

He scowled, becoming irritated as well. "What? I can't do that! Sewing's women's work."

"_Women's_ work?!"

"_Oh look,"_ Aang called nervously, hoping to deflect what was shaping up to be an ugly argument, _"We're almost here! See the Elephant Koi?"_

Thankfully, a pair of elephant koi chose that very moment to jump from the water below, the late afternoon sun shining brilliantly on the spray and their slick yellow and orange scales. The water tribe siblings and Momo leaned over the saddle to gawk at what was arguably the largest fish they had ever seen- the first one almost looked as if it was almost as large as Appa!

"_Aren't they great?"_ Aang enthused, _"They're real fun to ride. They're super slippery, so it's hard to hang on, but that's what makes it fun!"_

Katara turned a incredulous grin at him. "You used to ride fish? I thought it was just hogmonkeys!"

Sokka choked in amusement. "Aang rides fish?!"

Aang merely laughed, guiding Appa lower as they approached the island. _"Hey, don't knock it until you try it!"_

* * *

Katara was intrigued by the idea, but ten minutes later, after they landed on the beach and she got a better look at how large the fish really were, she decided that riding fish just wasn't her style. Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly, given his new task by Dad) Sokka backed her up on staying put. "No offense Aang, but if Katara gets eaten by a giant goldfish the next Avatar will never live it down." He rolled up the map and stuck it into his belt, shrugging as if to say 'just saying'. "It would be the most humiliating death ever!"

Katara giggled as she took off her parka and slid down Appa's tail, landing with a spray of sandy earth before running to the beach itself, eager to explore the new terrain. When she looked back at a trailing Aang, however, she was mildly surprised to see that his previous grin had faltered and fell, his expression becoming shuttered and he walked to her side. She mistook it as disappointment, and nudged his shoulder once he caught up to her. "Come on, Aang," She smiled reassuringly, "If we come across another animal that won't throw, eat, or maim me I'll be sure to ride it then, okay?"

Aang bit his lower lip as he studied his boots, only vaguely noticing the red speckled spidercrab as it scuttled right through his slightly translucent feet. He was hesitant to tell her that since the devastating visit to the Air Temple, he had been unable to stop brooding about everyone he had let down and failed. His entire race, within a short time just... gone. No, not just gone, _murdered_, every single one of them; unless some had assimilated into the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation until they, through the generations, lost touch of who they were until they ceased _being_ altogether.

Death might not really be the end, but he hated the idea that he could be the cause it. And the idea of failing his best friend and getting _her_ killed...

...well, it just didn't bear thinking about. He weakly laughed it off after a few moments. _"Heh heh, yeah. Something less dangerous and, um... humiliating if you get eaten by it?" _

'Less humiliating if you get eaten by it'? _Ugh. _Aang resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead. _What is wrong with me?_

Thankfully, Katara didn't notice anything wrong with his reply, and the issue was promptly forgotten as she breathed in the salty sea air and took in the lay of the land with all the wide eyed enthusiasm of a tourist. She took her time inspecting the beach and all it had to offer, laughing at Momo as he too joined in on the exploration, and slipped a tiny white cat's paw shell into her belt as a souvenir before wandering back towards the tree line where Appa and Sokka waited. Looking at the path that coiled it's way through the fragrant firs and the brilliantly colored crimson and gold beeches and maples, she was delighted to see that it was clearly man made. She waved a pretty orange maple leaf with delicate yellow veins at her brother, who hopped down from the saddle at last. "You were right, there are people here after all!" She said, gesturing at the path and handing him the leaf as he joined her. "I'm so excited! Do you think that they'll like us?"

Sokka inspected the leaf with momentary interest before flicking it over his shoulder, the leaf fluttering through Aang's face and out the back of his head by accident. Her brother patted her back reassuringly, though a smarmy grin couldn't quite be contained. "Of course they will! We're children of the great Chief Hakoda, and you're the Avatar to boot! What's _not_ to like about us?"

"It depends."

The three children gasped, and peered cautiously up into the trees where the disembodied voice had come from as Sokka drew his boomerang and Aang and Katara pressed close together with their hands raised in defense. Bits of emerald green and white could be seen here and there in the thick canopy, the only visible clue that there was anyone there at all as the voice spoke again. "Who are you really, and what are you doing here on our shores? If we find you to be Fire Nation spies, we'll throw you and your giant pet to the unagi!"

Appa growled at the threatening tone the (surprisingly young, surprisingly _female_) voice had used, the sound rumbling deep in the bison's chest like distant thunder. Katara was a little alarmed at the mention of the ominous sounding _unagi_, but the boys had caught on to another part of the mystery speaker's words. "Wait, what do you mean 'we'?" Sokka asked, unwisely lowering his boomerang a bit as Aang floated up into the trees to get a look for himself. The water tribe boy slowly smiled as he pieced it together, lowering his guard completely and crossing his arms mockingly as he laughed. Imagine, a young teenaged girl climbing trees, and pretending she was tough! "By the sounds of it, there's only one of you and three of us- and you're a girl! You can't scare us!"

The moment those words had slipped from his lips, a pained "_Oof_!" followed as a boot smashed square between his shoulder blades and dropped him like a jackalope. His face was ground painfully into the dirt and his arms were forced behind his back in one swift motion as the face painted girl (for it was indeed a mere girl) pinned him down with her knee and used his own belt to lash his wrists together. Katara shouted his name in horror, but had no time to help him as Appa bellowed a startled roar at more green clad, face painted warriors dropping down from the trees. The one to leap directly above Katara wasn't so successful in trying to take her down, however, for the young Avatar channeled her alarm into one sharp, punishing blast of air that slammed into the attacker's chest, sending the girl flying before she landed heavily with a pained cry several yards away.

Aang swiftly left the trees and shoved the leader (or what appeared to be their leader) off of the now thoroughly trussed up Sokka, and dragged him back behind Katara and set to work on untying the knots as she blasted two more warriors away with a smooth, windmilling motion. The leader slipped on the fallen leaves in the path as Sokka was yanked out from underneath her, and she turned a stunned look to Katara, mistaking the twelve year old to be the culprit. Wide, disbelieving green eyes never leaving her, the older girl raised a gloved hand and shouted "Hold!"

The five other warriors that were still standing all froze at her command, and held their twin metal fans in a defensive position while Katara held her arms out in the standard ready stance, casting a quick glance behind her to ensure that Sokka and Aang were fine. Aang spared a moment to give her a quick thumbs up, while Sokka looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him whole. Appa, further behind the boys, offered a threatening growl meant for the attackers, while Momo clung to one of the bison's curved horns and chattered furiously.

Satisfied that they were fine, she turned her full attention on the surprised warriors, her own anger over being attacked by allies softened by surprise of her own as she really _saw_ them for the first time.

All the warriors- from their leader to the youngest one that she had first airbent at- were _girls!_ Not women, but young teenagers, the youth unmistakable even behind the sweeping wings of red and black that graced their eyelids and brows set against the stark contrasting white of the rest of their faces. The girls all wore the same emerald green kimonos, supple leather armor plating on their chests, and tasseled metal headbands, all designed to make each member indiscernible from the other in the confusion of a fight. However, now that they and Katara were still, she could easily see that each girl was different- hair was a big factor, with some girls piling it in elaborate buns, tails, or braids, while the youngest one had her hair cropped a few inches above the shoulder. A few had varying brown (or even auburn) shades, while most of the others had jet black hair. Most noticeable to Katara were the eyes, made up of greens and browns that were clearly Earth Kingdom, and even the few that had blue were different- they were darker, more of a deep navy with hints of steel gray instead of the clear, deep ocean colors of home.

Her eyes never leaving Katara, the leader bent to help up the three girls who had been blasted away with airbending; picking twigs and leaves out of their hair and steadying them before she put a hand up on her own dark up do, grimacing at the fact that one of the chopsticks that held her elaborate bun had fallen out in the confusion. With half her hair slouching comically to the side and her ferocious expression absent in the wake of shock, she seemed to lose most of her original frightening aura as she stared at Katara in disbelief. "You... you're an... an Airbender?"

_Oh._ Katara lowered her arms at last. Of course they would be surprised. She wasn't exactly what anyone would first think of when they thought of airbenders, with her dusty brown skin, dark braided hair and blue clothes all announcing her water tribe blood. She cleared her throat, trying to hold her head high like Dad did during tribal councils as she struggled to come up with of a good way to tell them who she was without getting laughed at. As she took a deep breath, a strangely familiar, authority driven confidence bloomed somewhere within her chest, and suddenly all of her uncertainty fell away as she spoke the words that every Avatar had spoken before her. "Yes. I'm the Avatar."

* * *

The rest of the evening was interesting, to say the least.

It turned out that the girls were a part of a small network of unwed female warriors on the island that modeled themselves after the famed Avatar Kyoshi, and appropriately called themselves the Kyoshi Warriors. They formally introduced themselves as they escorted their new guests, and explained that due to them and three other squads the island had been permanently untouched by the war, even with all the traffic they got from rowdy fishermen and traders. The leader introduced herself as Midori, and the seventeen year old seemed to have an easy way about herself once she dropped the _'I'm going to gut you with a spoon'_ tone of voice. The youngest one, named Suki, was the same age as Sokka, and as it turned out she was the same girl that Katara had blown more than fifteen feet away. She waved away Katara's concern and apology with good grace, though she grimaced and winced with every movement of Appa's saddle. "It's okay, really," She sucked in a sharp breath as Appa avoided a dip in the path-turned-road and the saddle lurched slightly. Despite the pain she was in from having a few badly bruised ribs, her dark blue eyes were clear of any resentment toward the younger girl. "I'm going to get hurt a _lot_ more before I become the next leader."

Sokka offered an unintelligible grunt from the opposite end of the saddle and settled for glaring at her as he rubbed his chaffed wrists. (Suki was the only one unfortunate enough to need to ride in the saddle, and Sokka figured he'd be darned before he walked among a bunch of prissy female warrior wannabes). She cast a questioning look to Katara, who sighed and waved her hand, her voice both soothing and scolding. "It's okay, he's just upset that a bunch of girls took him down is all."

Midori snorted, glancing slyly up where Sokka swayed in the saddle. "Get used to it, kid. You're not in the Water Tribe anymore." Sokka's countenance darkened, and he crossed his arms tighter across his chest. "You're going to find that a lot of women do more than cook and clean. Hell, look at your sister! She's the most revered being in the _entire world_, and she's a little girl!"

Choosing to ignore her shock over a young woman cursing so casually, Katara grinned, looking appropriately bratty as she glanced up at her brother. "You mean I don't actually _have_ to sew your torn up clothes? I think I'm going to like this Avatar stuff after all!"

"Bite me."

She giggled, taking a moment to scritch Momo under his chin as he finally hopped down from Appa's horn and onto her shoulders, curling up with a contented, chirruping purr. Glancing up at the girls, she was met with several openly awed looks, like she was a legend come to life. _I suppose in a weird way I am. _She thought as she offered them a tentative smile before looking awkwardly away. _They've been hearing all kinds of stories and legends about the Avatar since they could breathe._

The thought bothered her the more she mulled it over. These girls were thinking that she was some big hero, and frankly Katara had never done much of anything that could be classified as heroic (aside from that one time she and Aang had stopped the spirit Sedna from killing Dad). What if... what if everyone found out what she really was: just some silly little girl from the South Pole that knew nothing about the rest of the world, who could only bend two elements so far, and-

_Stop it, _She scolded herself as they turned the last bend in the road and came upon the sight of the Kyoshi Warriors' home village, _They must like me! I'm their Avatar. Besides, these girls like me well enough. Everyone else will too._

She had no idea how true that last part would turn out to be.

As soon as they entered the village and Katara's identity was publicly announced, the young Avatar was startled to find that not only did the villagers like her, they couldn't seem to get enough of her. As the crowd gathered, people pressed in from all sides and swarmed up to and around her, asking questions (so, _so_ many questions!), touching her reverently as if she radiated some kind of holy power, and (in one case) screaming/cheering with downright terrifying enthusiasm before falling over, foaming at the mouth.

She looked up at Aang in a silent plea for help as an irrational fear of strangers suddenly overtook her, but the spirit boy could only shrug helplessly as more and more people vied for her attention. Looking back at Sokka, Aang could see the boy's mood darken further as the people chattered on about their new Avatar, seeming to dismiss his presence altogether until the village leader, Oyaji, declared that the Avatar and her bother be allowed to freshen up while a feast was prepared in her honor. It was at that point all interaction between the three children ceased as Katara and Sokka were whisked away by the women and men respectively, and it wasn't until it was very late that night they had a chance to escape the hullabaloo that was the ensuing feast, absolutely exhausted. Sokka wearily stalked over to his bed, stuffing his face with his (admittedly very tasty) thimbleberry jelly filled pastry before flopping face downward into the bed with a tired groan. Momo snuck a few nibbles of the ruby jelly that oozed from the treat while Sokka's face was hidden by his pillow, his words slightly muffled. "I hope you've had your fun, Katara. I can't wait to leave this place."

Sitting on the adjacent bed, Katara slipped off her moccasins (they found it was just warm enough here on the island to forgo their mukluks and parkas), before setting to work sliding her beads off her hair loops and untying the strip of leather that bound the end of her braid. Aang walked over to the sturdy looking chest that was under the windowsill and sat on it, propping his hands under his chin and his elbows on his knees. "_Why do you want to leave?"_ He wondered aloud, _"They're giving you guys the royal treatment! How could you possibly find that a problem?"_

Katara finished unbinding her braid and her bun, shaking out her long hair before chewing on her bottom lip pensively. "Well, it's not so much a problem, Aang," She began, "But it's just so odd, being..."

"Being _what_? The center of attention? Showered with gifts and food? Followed around like you have your own gravitational pull?"

Katara dropped her hair beads and tie into the pouch she kept in her belt before she looked up and frowned at her brother's bitter tone. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Sokka sighed, rolling over on his side and drawing up a blanket around his ears as he kicked his boots off with a heavy _clump. _"Nothing." He muttered flatly. He felt guilty for feeling so jealous; he knew it was wrong, that Dad would be so disappointed in him, and that Katara couldn't help being what she was... but he couldn't help feeling like he got the short end of the stick. Watching his reincarnated figure of legends little sister be adored by perfect strangers simply _because_ she was a reincarnated figure of legends ... well, it made him mad. Most of the time he was fine with it, but today made him realize just how much more special Katara was than him. She was able to stand and fight while he was ambushed by _a teenage girl _(something that really stuck in his craw)_,_ and _he_ was the one who was supposed to protect _her_!

It was the accumulating negative emotions building up inside that lowered his discretion, and he found himself speaking words that he never had any intention of saying. "It's just that Dad made everyone at home treat you the same and you seemed fine with it, and yet while you're here getting undeserved worship by the very same people who tried to jump us, you're lapping it up with a spoon!"

Aang winced at the unusual harshness, and an angry red bloomed across Katara's cheeks and along her ears at the 'lapping it up with a spoon' comment. Stung, she crossed her arms and childishly decided to fling her hurt right back at him. "You know what? I think you're just jealous that no one paid any attention to you, except to tell you to take a plate to Suki while she was in the infirmary!"

Aang groaned and dropped his face in his hands.

"No I'm not!" Sokka snapped as he reared upright, any and all discretion flying out the window as his voice rose higher and higher in the heat of his frustration. "I've got _nothing_ to be jealous over! Give me one good reason why I should be! What have you _ever_ done to deserve all this Avatar worship, except have a freaky freak out over Mom and destroy our home, magically be able to toss around air, and talk to your invisible past life/boyfriend like a _crazy person?!"_

The room dripped heavy with the poisonous words and stunned all three children; and though Sokka instantly regretted saying them, they were impossible to take back. Katara's eyes welled up as his hurtful words wrapped themselves around her heart like an invisible jellyfish tentacle and sank in it's venom. A long moment spiraled out where those words mixed with Dad's, as well as the questions that she was bombarded with earlier at the feast:

"_Your parents must be so proud to have raised the Avatar!" _

_~"I should have known what she was, and have her be sent away to the North Pole to be raised and trained!"~_

"_What did your mother think, letting you travel the world all alone? She must miss you!"_

~"_Kya is _dead_ because of Katara, do you understand!?"~ _

"_Can you show me some bending, Avatar Katara?"_

~"_What have you _ever_ done to deserve all this Avatar worship?"~_

Katara's voice finally unstuck itself from her throat after a small eternity. "What have I done?" She parroted bitterly, her eyes burning bright with tears, "I've done _nothing!_ And you know what? I've never asked for any of this! I never meant for any of this to happen, I never meant to be born and steal all the attention you obviously want! I'm sorry!"

Sokka groaned, his hand holding the side of his head like it hurt. "Katara, that's... that's not what-"

"You meant it!" She surged to her feet, not caring that she was openly crying at this point. "You know you meant it, so _don't_ try to butter me up! Why else would you say it?" She pulled on her moccasins and blindly groped for the door frame as she ran out.

If there had been a door within the frame, it would have slammed.

* * *

The room was silent for a single moment before Sokka threw his hands in the air and groaned aloud in frustration. _"Augh!_ Why did I _say_ that!? I'm such an idiot!"

Aang agreed with the sentiment, and proceeded to let Sokka know by whopping the older boy upside the wolf tail. _"Do you have any idea what you just said to her?" _He yelled, not caring that Sokka had no way of hearing him. _"You've just made things worse!"_

The water tribe boy yelped, rubbing his head and glaring over his shoulder where he assumed Aang would be. "_Ow_! I know, I know! I said some things that weren't so nice, but you gotta see it from my point of view too. All this Avatar stuff... it changed everything, from the moment I found out about Mom. Katara's always been more special, ever since she was just a waterbender, and now... well, you know. Bad enough she's better than me at fighting, I've got a _whole island_ of girls who got me beat! Do you know what that does to a man's pride?"

Aang crossed his arms and sat next to him with a sigh, the only visible cue for Sokka that his sister's invisible past life was there at all was the slight dip in the mattress.

Aang knew what Sokka meant- really, he did. However, being in Katara's position before had made him more than a little biased. It was a terrible burden to be the Avatar. Sokka would never know what that would feel like, and frankly, Aang was happy that the water tribe boy lucked out in that department. Still, he understood what Sokka was going through, even if he himself had never been shown up by a bunch of female warriors. _"Even so, that wasn't very nice."_

Sokka was staring intently at the area where Aang was sitting. "I don't want to apologize to her just yet!" he lamented, as if he had heard what Aang just said. "She'll chew my head off. Plus... that means I'll have to apologize to that one Kyoshi Warrior too, and I'm _not_ going to do that!"

Aang lightly flicked the boy's arm.

"Cut it out! Fine. I'll apologize to Katara when she gets back, but those girls ought to be apologizing to _me_. That Suki girl was obnoxious when I was made to take that plate of food to her in the infirmary. She _deserved_ getting her dessert stolen by me for saying what she said!"

Looking down at his hand where he still held the aforementioned pastry, he was disappointed to see that Momo had licked off all the frosting and most of the jelly filling. With a growl he chucked it across the room for Momo to finish, and morosely flopped back onto his pillow, wondering helplessly how he was ever going to make things right between himself and his sister.

Unseen, a figure moved away from beneath the window and stole away into the darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I can't seem to write a happy, relaxed chapter to save my life, can I? Sorry for the angst. Sokka's outburst has actually been a long time in coming, since he's been wrestling with living in the shadow of the Avatar since Kya died. However, no matter how many times I've revised this, it just seems a tad rushed. Sorry guys! I'll try to go over it again at a later date. I just hope that Sokka came across as well as I had envisioned it in my head. I _needed_ to establish that Sokka has deep running issues with being the brother of the Avatar- and all of them are perfectly natural and in character for him to feel in this scenario. At this stage, he and Katara haven't yet learned how to depend on one another and work as a team like in Canon, and this is going to be the first step before they can get to the kind of closeness that was shown in the show.

I made a minor edit, Katara should be twelve now instead of eleven, since her birthday was in the winter and this is late spring. Fixed that mistake.

The side mention of Katara and Aang saving Hakoda from Sedna is going to be explained much later on, probably during a campfire story when Toph becomes part of the gaang.

Next chapter introduces Captain!Zhao, which I'm excited about, and we'll see our kiddos start to relax and have a good time (and get some of these issues sorted out!) before moving on.


	9. The Island of Kyoshi: Part Two

**Chapter Six: The Island Of Kyoshi, Part Two**

Soft, pale moonlight filtered weakly through the trees as the shadowed figure left her post and discreetly melted into the shadows, following in the direction the distraught young Avatar had run. Her blue civilian's dress swished lightly around her ankles as she walked through the grass, and the cold dew that had been forming up on the blades caught at her hem and stained the geometric pattern in uneven blotches. She paused, taking a steadying breath and put a hand on her freshly wrapped ribs before taking a slower, more cautious pace as she passed the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and climbed the hill before her, replaying the whole overheard conversation in her mind and snorting derisively. _Sacrilegious numskull._ _Didn't he know he was wrong to speak to the Avatar, the bridge between the worlds and bringer of justice and peace, so disrespectfully? Who cares if he's feeling snubbed? _

Respect for one's family and their betters was paramount here on Kyoshi Island, and so far Suki remained thoroughly unimpressed with the Avatar's brother- even after hearing him beat himself up for saying what he did. She left after it had become quiet in the room (it sounded like he was speaking to someone other than himself, the weirdo) with the half formed plan to find the Avatar and apologize for her brother, and see if she could help in any way.

Suki frowned to herself as she paused once again, cursing the hinderance of her ribs as she stopped to think about her hasty actions. What was it she was really _doing_? Offering comfort and apologizing for that moron of a brother seemed a little bold, come to think of it. Was it right to go and talk to the world's most powerful being without asking the permission of Oyaji or the sages?

_Don't be stupid, _She scolded herself with a snort, pushing herself forward and ignoring the persistent twinges. No one else had heard the row- someone had to make sure things were set right, and that stupid donkeygoat of a boy certainly wasn't going to be able to fix it at this point.

Cresting the top of the hill at last, Suki let out a relived breath, leaning against the great oak _torii_ that acted as a gateway as she looked up at the lone building before her. She was strangely unsurprised that Avatar Katara had sought out refuge inside the sacred shrine dedicated to Avatar Kyoshi. _Perhaps something in her recognizes a familiar place, even if she doesn't know it, _She thought, a little awed at the idea. After all, legend had it that this was originally Kyoshi's house before her death.

Placing her fingers to her forehead and lips, the warrior reverently touched the gilded sacred text engraved on the inside pillars of the _torii_ before quietly entering the shrine's tidy grounds, and finally the dim interior of the shrine itself.

What she found there shook every one of her preconceptions of the Avatar and it's current incarnation.

The Avatar had not, as Suki had imagined, been storming off in a rage that needed to be quenched and soothed before someone got hurt. Instead, the water tribe girl had curled up in a miserable ball underneath the area where Kyoshi's robes hung on display, with her face buried in her knees and her long, heavily wavy hair shrouding the rest of her face from view as she... cried. She looked ridiculously young and small in the moonlight that streamed through the doorway, and for a moment it was hard for Suki to believe that she was only a year younger than herself. The picture struck her as different than what she'd imagined for the Avatar, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. The past Avatars in all the sages' stories never seemed to _cry_- she had assumed whenever they got offended, someone was going to be on the wrong end of the Avatar Spirit's powerful rage. It never occurred to her that Avatars could even be _capable_ of crying like a little kid. She certainly never imagined Avatar Kyoshi crying over anything, no matter how hurt she might have been.

Looking at the younger girl as she wept, however, made Suki realize that Katara _was_ just a kid, not just the human packaging that held the Avatar Spirit. She was fully human with human emotions alongside the mysterious, deeply layered part that made up her Avatar Spirit. _She's no different than Koko, or even myself. _She realized, a little startled by the idea,_ She has a right to cry, and it shouldn't be strange to see her get her feelings hurt by stupid older brothers. _

Realizing she was staring (and intruding on a good cry to boot), Suki debated whether or not to leave the girl alone. However, a creaky floorboard made up her mind for her as she took a step back, and she winced as the water tribe girl startled violently. Katara's head shot up with a gasp, her wet blue eyes widening fearfully before she scrambled to her feet and started to raise her hands in obvious warning. Suki hurriedly raised her own hands in a soothing gesture despite the sharp bite of fire it sent along her ribs. "It's okay, it's just me!"

The younger girl blinked, and seemed to need a moment to remember who Suki was before she lowered her arms, her embarrassed blush visible even within the dimness of the room. "Suki?" She rasped, quickly wiping her face with her sleeve and guiltily looking away from Suki's gaze. "What... what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?"

A sardonic smile crossed Suki's face as her right hand unconsciously strayed to her tender left side. "I was, but I was released after I got wrapped up, and I had a personal mission to find your brother and make him pay for my dessert he stole." _He took my favorite kind too, the bastard..._ "Kamajii said that I should be fine, as long as I don't get airbent at or enter into any fights."

"Oh." Katara stepped closer towards Suki and the door, and Suki was disheartened to see the underlying misery in the younger girl's features, even with the obvious overtones of concern as the girl grimaced apologetically. "Sorry again about airbending at you like that. I hope you didn't end up getting any broken ribs."

She casually waved it away, though the effect was rather unconvincing as she fought a wince at the pain that simple motion caused. "Nah, they're just bruised. Thankfully my chest plating took a lot of the force, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been." The Kyoshi Warrior frowned a little as she decided to come clean with why she was here. "I was on my way over to where you and your brother were staying when I heard you guys fighting. Are... are you okay?"

Obviously not, but it was the only thing Suki could think of to say to break this awkward spell between them.

Katara looked mortified. "You heard all of that?"

"...Yeah. Sorry."

"It's... it's alright. I suppose someone else could have heard it too, with how loud it got at the end." Katara's gaze traveled over the relics in the shrine, studying them intently in an attempt to get a hold of herself and her wavering emotions. Her hand absently reached out to touch Avatar Kyoshi's war fans on their current resting place on the wall, and Suki swore she saw the tiniest glow flicker deep within the water tribe girl's eyes- so faint and brief, she wondered if it was merely a trick of the moonlight. Katara herself seemed to be unaware of it as she continued in a dejected murmur. "Sokka was right, you know. He has nothing to be jealous over."

The words stunned the young warrior, as effectively as if they had been plastered to a stone wall and had abruptly slammed into her. "But, you're the _Avatar_! It's the greatest honor in the whole world!"

The water tribe girl's lips twitched into a curiously grim smile. "I know. As the Avatar I'm supposed to be a hero, and I guess by title alone you would think I would be. Back at home though, we had celebrations whenever our hunters and warriors got back from a successful hunt, along with a boy's Ice Dodging, or to celebrate a holiday. Being honored here like this, with a feast and everything even though I haven't done anything worth mentioning yet... well..."

She trailed off helplessly. Her gaze, though shrouded in literal shadows from the dim light the moon provided through the doorway, seemed to darken as she finally looked at the panoramic painting covering the entire back wall that was highlighted by the moon's glow. Her previous life seemed to be benevolently addressing her people with a hand raised, as if bestowing a blessing or benediction. "I'm not the beautiful warrior woman Kyoshi must have been." Katara mumbled morosely, "I have done nothing worth honoring at all. I'm not a hero."

Suki paused and bit her lip as she wondered how she could possibly help the situation, and after a few minutes, an idea occurred to her and a smile spread across her pale features. She laid a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You know, you might not be a warrior just yet, but you will be the greatest warrior alive when you've mastered the elements! That alone is honor enough, and it's even more of an honor that you will be ending a war that's lasted almost a century! Besides, we all need time to learn, and to grow. That's why I train so hard myself, because the leadership of the Kyoshi warriors will pass on to me someday." She nudged Katara forward, and the two walked back out of the dimly lit shrine and into the open air. The moon's pale glow reflected on the ocean below the cliffs and threw everything into sharp contrast, and it highlighted the growing excitement in the islander's eyes as the idea rolling around in her head tumbled out into the open. "If you want, you could stay here for a bit before you go- the Kyoshi Warriors have a lot of techniques that Avatar Kyoshi herself used in battle, and some are based off of waterbending. We could teach you before you head out to the North Pole!"

Suki's enthusiasm was enough to chase away the last of Katara's self pity, and the idea proved too tempting to pass up. "You guys would really do that?" She asked, hope brightening her countenance.

The Kyoshi Warrior grinned back as they passed under the _torii_ and left the shrine behind. "Of course! We normally don't train outsiders, but as the Avatar I'm sure you are the exception. Besides," Suki's smile grew into a rather wicked looking smirk, "We'll even teach your brother a few lessons as well."

* * *

Day 249, on board the _Interceptor _

_We are three days away from enemy General Fong's base, the only thing that stands in our way to the HangZhou inlet that our troops will need to gain direct access to Omashu. My men are preparing themselves for battle, and I'm most confident that the _Interceptor_ will be the best ship to spearhead this advance. Given the reports I've received from my scouts, the Earth Kingdom base will not be any match for our _trébuchets _or fire benders. It almost saddens me to think of the poor General's loss. _

_Our firebenders have been training rigorously as per my orders under Lieutenant Cheng. Private Pao, a newer recruit, was moderately burned during tonight's training and is currently in the infirmary. I am told he should make a full recovery, though his skin will undoubtedly be scarred. Hopefully, this will not harm his chances of scoring a wife later when we return home, victorious._

Pausing to dip his high quality fireferret brush in the ink, Captain Zhao smirked at the last sentence. Pao's thoroughly scorched backside would be a most unpleasant surprise for any maiden to find on her wedding night, though the poor fool would otherwise make a good, if dreadfully dull, husband. Taking a sip of his cooling tea, he set to completing the entry in the log before heading out to the deck to practice himself, and make sure the trébuchets were in good order.

_Tonight's supper was plainer fare than usual, due to our shortage of fresh meat; spicy ocean kumquat sauce on a bed of rice, with a side of pickled winter melon. We will have to restock higher quality tea as well, since we are now reduced to using a suspiciously substandard Orange Peko. Perhaps Ginseng and Jasmin should be added to our tea stores. Once the battle is over, I will see to it that we keep the inlet clear, and allow ground forces to take control of this area properly._

_Captain Zhao, long live Fire Lord! _

* * *

"_You can't keep avoiding him forever, you know."_

Katara's features, already arranged into a frown of concentration as she worked a set of airbending forms out in the yard in the dim early morning light, deepened into irritation at Aang's gentle scolding.

"Watch me."

Aang called out a different form, and Katara slid from the 'Lion Turtle Embraces the Ball' to a set of rapid fire jets of air from her hands called the 'Seven Star Palm Strike' with practiced ease, though the dark circles under her eyes and the slightest sluggishness in her movements testified at how little sleep she had gotten during the night. Aang had anxiously waited over an hour for her last night before she came sneaking back in, and though she had was significantly calmer, it was highly apparent that she was going to hold a bitter grudge against her brother for a long time, having cataloged and filed away every one of his words for future reference during the time she was gone. She had wearily murmured something to Aang about talking to one of the warrior girls before she fell asleep, her back turned stubbornly away from Sokka's sleeping form.

Five hours and one horrifying comet themed nightmare later, Katara was now employing the use of the dawn's relative privacy to go and escape her brother (and the villager's stifling attention) by practicing her bending before breakfast would inevitably force her to face both her brother and her overly enthusiastic fans. Oyaji had passed by a few minutes ago, pausing to watch with palpable awe before he went on his business, but now the yard was devoid of everyone except the two young Avatars.

Aang sighed, and tried once again. _"What I mean is, you need to forgive him sometime. We'll be leaving here sooner or later, and trust me, a bison's back is a pretty small place to be when you're mad." _He stood, and absently began to dance in a random hopping pattern along the sharped points of the log fencing that framed the yard, studying her with a slightly pleading expression as he paused, balancing with one foot in the air, on the sixth pole. _"He said he was sorry, and he even told _me_ he was sorry once you left!"_

"I don't care," Katara ground out, sending a particularly harsh gust of wind at the ground, sending dust and grit in all directions before balling her fists and dropping her form to sulk childishly, "He wouldn't have said those things if he didn't mean them, deep down. I can't just _forget_ about it, like it was never said."

"_No, but you can forgive him."_

She shrugged, huffing a sigh and turning her back to him. "Same thing."

"_No, it's not."_ Aang twisted his body around until both feet were resting on the fencing before he floated down and walked over to her side. He met her tired, bitter gaze and managed to hold it, having had years of practice in getting her to willingly hear what he had to say. _"There's no such thing as 'forgive and forget', Katara. The Monks always said that was not only impossible, but foolish, because you'd be trying to lie to yourself that whatever was said or done to hurt you never happened. You'll never be able to forget things... but you can forgive them. That's the whole virtue of forgiveness- you do it willingly and freely, even though you were hurt." _He frowned a little when he noticed her expression darken, and threw his hands in the air in exasperation. _"Okay, maybe not right _now_, but before we leave. We've only just started our trip! You can't be angry for weeks on end!"_

If Katara had gotten more sleep, and had a clearer mind over the matter, she would have reluctantly agreed and let it drop. Thankfully, before she could open her mouth and carelessly ask him what _he_ knew of forgiveness and being hurt, she was interrupted by a muffled fit of childish giggles coming from just beyond the yard. Looking up, Katara noticed a knot of little girls not too far away, all ranging from five to ten years old, staring at her quizzically and hiding their giggles as they caught their new found heroine seemingly talking to herself. A little girl (who looked remarkably similar to Suki when she was wearing her civilian's dress) stepped forward as soon as they realized they had been caught staring, tossing her cropped auburn hair and flouncing her skirt in what the the child assumed was a most grown up fashion. "You can airbend really good!" She chirped boldly, tiny hands propped on her hips and her head held high. "Do some more bending!"

The rest of the girls flocked closer, emboldened by the brash little girl who Katara would know later as Koko, all echoing the same wish to see more bending, and asking if she could do more than airbend.

"Can you do earthbending?" Asked the tallest, clasping her hands together delightedly.

"Do some firebending!" The one with the ponytail cried, "Mama says it's bad for anyone to do it, but said that you can do it, and when _you_ do it it's okay!"

"Show us _all_ your bending! There's no one on the whole Island who can show us _anything_!"

"Yeah, you're from the South Pole, show us some waterbending!"

"Yeah, make it rain, or do bubbles for us! That'd be fun!"

Katara couldn't hold back her grin- she hadn't realized how much she missed having to look after some of the little kids back home. Maybe these girls wouldn't be quite so rabid in their adulation as their parents and elders, and prove to be normal little girls. And it wasn't so grating to be asked to give a bending demonstration by her new little fan group as it was by everyone else... maybe because the girls were innocent in asking, and not eying Katara and judging her abilities and seeing if they would be enough to win the war, as she suspected some of the adults were doing. _At least none of them are foaming at the mouth, _She thought, fighting a chuckle at the thought.

She glanced over at Aang, and he gave her a cheery thumbs up. _"Why not? It's been a long time since you've done bending for fun instead of training. You could use a break!"_

Katara smiled at him gratefully, stuffing their earlier disagreement into the back of her mind and resolving to talk to him later, and apologize for being a brat. She turned to the little girls and decided to have a little fun with them. "You know, funny you should mention bubbles..." She grinned slyly, wiggling her fingers behind her back and summoning the soapy water from the wash basin she had brought out earlier (for the purpose of washing away the sweat and grime of bending practice before breakfast). She streamed the water forward with a little curling flourish that elicited some _oohs _of wonder. "I just happen to have some soapy water right here, but I'm not good enough to make it bubble by myself yet." Her eyes sparked with mischief as the water danced in lazy swoops above the giggling girls' reaching arms, and Aang smiled at the (too rare) sight of her cutting loose and truly having fun. "You guys think you can help me?"

* * *

A half an hour (and thousands of bubbles) later, Katara was summoned by Oyaji's wife, Rin, to breakfast. The elderly hostess' mouth dropped in shock at the sight of the Avatar running around the yard with young children like a child herself, laughing breathlessly and producing scarlet bubbles colored by the sunrise from the water swirling around above the children's heads. Katara had strands of dark hair escaping her braid and bun and framing her face, and one of her hair loopies had somehow caught on one of the girl's waving hands and had come partially undone, leaving her a very odd sight to see as she cheerfully shooed the kids away to their respective homes. She grinned apologetically at Rin, grasping the quiet woman's arm in the proper water tribe greeting. "I'm sorry, I almost didn't hear you," She panted, trying to sweep back her hair into something more presentable with her free hand and smiling brightly, "You said breakfast was ready?"

Rin's mouth worked like a gaping fish for a moment before regaining her usual demure composure, silently reminding herself that the girl was Water Tribe- she didn't know the proper etiquette of the Island. "Ah...ahem, yes. Your brother is already bathed and at the table, as are the rest of the family. Perhaps we should wait for you to..."

She trailed off, her faded green eyes doing another unsubtle once over, and Katara blushed as she realized what a mess she looked to their tidy hostess. "Um, maybe, if you don't mind. I brought the wash basin outside with me earlier, so I can wash my face out here and try to get my hair done up in a few minutes."

Rin nodded graciously, and turned inside, her long silvery tail of hair swishing gracefully as she left. Katara rubbed her arm self consciously, grimacing sheepishly at Aang. "I think I got a little carried away. Sorry."

"_Don't be!"_ He laughed, sweeping his foot under the stray hand towel lying beside him in the dirt and deftly flipping it up in the air to catch it before tossing it over to her. "_That was great! I wish I would have thought of bubble bending while I was still alive, it would have been so hilarious to see bubbles being blown at the Monks during meditation hour!"_

Katara's smile grew as she dipped a corner of the towel in the now thoroughly soapy water and scrubbed away the dust that caked her hairline and cheeks. "Actually, you're the one who inspired me to try it." She admitted.

Aang blinked at her in surprise. _"Really? Me?"_

"Mmhmm. You make bending fun, and since air and water are kind of similar in the way they can be bent, I thought of trying to combine the two to show you that I can make bending fun too." She bent the excess water off her face, and tried (without much success) to get her hair back in order. "It's one of the things I was practicing on my own to surprise you with, though I ended up using it a little early for the kids." She glanced at him, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy and anxious to know what he thought of it. "Did you... did you like it?"

Aang tilted his head, looking a little confused. _"Of course I did- didn't you see me join in and play too? It was the most fun I've had since we pranked Old Man Jarko, and that was a ton of fun!"_

Katara's blush seemed to be permanently painted on, and she huffed a little at herself, irritated at the weird, contradictory feelings bubbling up inside her chest._ Get a grip on yourself, of course he would like it. You're acting like Pinga did when she had that ridiculous crush on Tului! _

She shook herself at the idea, and did her best to banish the strange feelings as she desperately latched onto what he had said. "That's, uh, that's good! I'm glad we can have fun together, even around others who can't see you." She sobered a little as she stood to go inside. "We've had a rather depressing trip so far, huh?"

Aang nodded, his eyes shadowed at the reminder of the Temple as he followed her._ "You said it! We need to make this trip a fun one. Maybe you can calm down some of the adults during breakfast and start to actually _enjoy_ this place."_

* * *

'Enjoying the island', as the children found, would prove to be an effort, though the reasons for each one were vastly different.

For Katara, she was _constantly_ hounded by people, and constantly asked questions she was not at all prepared for. Breakfast brought on a round of questions from Oyaji and Rin regarding the war, and what Katara planned to do about it; and as the day dragged on the bold questions from the townspeople only grew worse. Aang began to get as frustrated with the incessant questions as she did, and when Katara finally snapped and told a man to come back with his stupid political questions when she became an adult, Aang flinched as if he'd been struck. The man backed away, sputtering an apology and scurrying away, and she turned in a huff and tried to find a quieter place to explore on the island while Aang trailed slowly behind, feeling a little sick. He realized with a slow, sinking feeling he had never told his friend about the comet, or the thrilling bit of news that she would have to master all four elements and end the war within two year's time to prevent the world from becoming irreversibly ruined. He ran a hand over his arrow, groaning softly to himself as it sank in. _How will I even _begin_ to to tell her something like that?_

The question of how and when he should bring it up to her ate at him for the rest of the day. He finally left Katara's side by late afternoon and went on a visit to the Spirit World to ask for guidance, feeling desperate. Perhaps Roku, or Yangchen, would give him the wisdom he needed.

As for Sokka...

"The Avatar was here just a few minutes ago. You are so lucky to have the Avatar in your family!"

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Sokka deadpanned with a sigh, having heard a variant of this most of the day. He shivered as a mildly cold breeze made it's way down the market lane. "Can you tell me which way she went?"

The vegetable vendor, a heavyset middle aged man with a great shock of salt and pepper hair peeking over his headband, jerked a thumb over his shoulder, towards the fragrant pines that framed the pathway that led up to the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo. Sokka wilted. "Really? She went to visit the girls?" He asked, feeling his once hopeful mood deflate by the second. _Crap. This trip is just getting better and better, isn't it?_

The man adjusted his fur caplet as another, stronger, chilly wind blew in. He turned to look toward the rapidly graying sky with a worried expression on his round face before nodding to himself and turning to make the necessary preparations to close up shop for the approaching storm. "Indeed. She mentioned something about wanting to watch the girls while they practiced. Hopefully she'll see that _our_ warriors are the best on the island!" He tossed Sokka a free-of-charge eggplant, and glanced at the steadily darkening sky. "You best be finding her quick, lad. We get storms this time of year, and gale force winds aren't uncommon. We've got very little time before this one hits."

Momo, perched comically on the boy's head like a great misshapen, bat eared hat, chattered and curled his tail tightly around Sokka's neck as if to anchor himself there, obviously sensing something about the oncoming weather that he didn't like. Sokka choked and wheezed as he tried to pry the tail loose, and absently thanked the man before swallowing his pride and venturing (staggering) into what he had already dubbed as '_enemy territory'_ to find his sister and try to clear the air and apologize. He frowned as he finally tugged Momo's tail loose. _Might as well try again. With this storm we're not going anywhere fast, and she's been avoiding me since breakfast._

The idea of seeing those infuriating girls again, though, was _not_ high on his list of 'things to do', and as he trudged towards the dojo, he heard the dim sound of female voices coming from inside. Momo's bright green eyes stared into his own as the lemur looked upside down at Sokka as the boy paused uncertainly at the doorway, and the lemur chittered in a way that seemed to say _'Go on, buddy, you can do this'_. Sokka irritably waved the lemur out of his face and took a deep breath before entering the 'den of witchery'.

As (mis)fortune would have it, Katara was already starting to become real chummy with the girls, and had begun inspecting a pair of fans that Midori chick had given her with great delight when he walked in. "You would really allow me to keep these? They're beautiful!" She cried, opening one and waving it experimentally with an enthusiasm Sokka hadn't seen since before Mom died. "I can practice airbending with these! Thank you!"

Midori favored his sister with a look of patient amusement. "Well, Avatar Kyoshi used her fans in all her bending forms, and legend has it she created this island with them somehow. We know that you will bring honor with these fans just as she did."

A noise escaped him at the idea of a past lady Avatar using fans to create Kyoshi Island (what did she do, carve it away from the mainland with an epic slice?) and Sokka's mood plummeted further as every eye landed on him, freezing him to his spot within the was he ever going to apologize to her in front of all these girls!?

"Oh... hi Sokka." Katara said, looking at him with cautious curiosity, snapping her fan shut and straightening self consciously. "What are you doing here?"

The look on her face suggested that she thought he was coming here to taunt them while they practiced, and he fidgeted as he wondered how he was going to get this over with. "Ah... um, well, I was coming here to find you. I haven't seen you all day."

Momo echoed that last part with a happy sounding '_mirrr_!' and flew over to her shoulder. She scritched the pale fur of the lemur's belly, and raised an eyebrow at Sokka. "Ok... why didn't you wait for me back at Oyaji's? We were going to practice some forms before supper, which is only an hour away."

Sokka opened his mouth to protest that he _had_ waited for her, at lunchtime, only to discover she was busy eating a packed lunch as she explored the island. However, he didn't get a chance to say anything when that one girl he met last night, Suki, stood up from her place in the corner and stalked over to him with a grace that a thirteen year old girl with bruised ribs shouldn't possess. "No no, it's alright if he stays here on the sidelines with me for a bit, right Midori?" She said, all sugary sweet words, "After all, the water tribe boy and I have some things to talk about."

_Things? What things? _

Sokka warily backed up a step as he noted the near predatory gleam in the girl's dark blue eyes, but it was too late to leave without looking like an idiot. He gulped, looking for an escape, but it seemed that the universe was going to drag this thing out nice and slow, for it's own entertainment.

Though everything in his head was screaming it was a bad idea, he decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "Listen, I don't know what you want to talk about, but how about you sit down before you hurt yourself and let me talk to my sister, alright?"

He waved a hand at her, as if to shoo her away like an annoying fly (she really was), but the next second he cried out in pain as she caught his fingers on his back swing and forced his wrist backward with a sharp, calculated motion that had him dropping to the floor within half a second. "I'm sorry, _what_ did you just tell me to do?" She snarled, sticking her pale face (strangely pretty, without that ridiculous makeup caked all over it) into his, while he glared back. "I am a _warrior_, not some squirreldog you can order around! Give me some respect as a fellow warrior... unless you were just being a blow hard and lying about being a warrior at last night's feast."

A round of _'ooohs'_ came from the other girls gathered, and Katara, although uneasy looking for a moment, seemed to decide that this was just and fair, and let it play out on it's own.

Sokka's face flushed furiously. Stupid girls. Why did they always take what he said wrong? "I am _not_ a liar!" He hissed, yanking his hand from her grasp and standing stiffly, "I am a warrior who passed my trial of hunting an enormous monster that comes out of the ocean to eat women and children! As a man, it's my duty to become a warrior, to protect and provide!" He drew himself up haughtily, crossing his arms and trying to ignore the way his voice cracked at all the wrong times. "What do you _girls_ do, except play dress up and hide away on your Island and keep to yourselves, jumping people without asking questions, and expecting my sister to solve the War problems for you?"

Suki's face turned scarlet with rage, and a disgruntled and offended murmur coursed through the crowd at Sokka's words. Midori's eyebrows nearly rose above her hairline, but before she could intervene as leader, Suki stomped forward, pointing a finger in his face. "We protect our family and friends by keeping this place neutral! We are the only thing that keeps this island Fire Nation free, and-"

The wind that had been picking up over the course of the conversation blew more insistently, and the sound of thunder that had been quiet enough to miss earlier was now loud enough to cause everyone to look up. "Looks like this will have to wait." Midori said decisively, sending a pointed look that prompted Suki to (grudgingly) back down. Katara laid a hand on his shoulder, worriedly looking outside the open doorway at the ugly storm front rolling in. "Come on, we all should get back. It looks like the rain is going to beat us if we don't hurry."

As if her words summoned them, fat raindrops started to fall, and within half a minute it was a raging downpour that only a summer or autumn storm could conjure up so quickly. Everyone traded glances, wondering if they should make a break for it despite the weather or sit tight until it passed. Sokka clearly wanted to leave, while Suki just as clearly was out for blood and wanted to stay put and finish what had been started. A brilliant strike of lightning decided for them, and the deep rumble that followed shortly after told them that the storm was traveling towards them at a furious rate. "Okay, new plan. We wait it out here." Midori said, flicking an interested glance at the two bickering teens.

A look of fear came across Sokka's face as a look of satisfaction came over Suki's. "Good, this will give us plenty of time to show this 'warrior' exactly what it is we do here on this island." She said, far too smug for Sokka's taste. She looked down her nose at him, her smug smile falling away as she became dead serious. "Now you listen closely _boy,_ you _know_ your sister has a duty to fulfill as the Avatar. She _knows_ she has to defeat the Firelord before Sozin's comet comes back, and if she doesn't, the whole world will be destroyed from its power! She only has two years to get ready, so yes, we want to know what she plans on doing."

No one noticed the blood draining from Katara's face, and Katara herself had no idea what was said beyond those horrifying words. Suki continued, unaware of the affect she was having on her new friend. "Now as for you, you arrogant little jerk, we are training for when our village needs protection, and whether that's ambushing someone we think is a threat or outright killing enemies in our land, we don't care. So either help us out in that or step aside and let us and your sister -the _real_ warriors- do the job for you!"

Suki's words had hit Sokka and Katara like a slap in the face (though for different reasons), and even the other warriors were surprised at their youngest member's sharp tongue. A sharper, louder thunderclap shook the dojo as Katara blinked in shock at Suki. "_What_... what do you mean I have only two years left?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay guys, thanks to my dear husband's help and input, this is going to be a three part chapter, so hang in there! Lots of rewriting went into this chapter. Possibly one of the more irritating chapters to write, simply because I kept thinking up something better as soon as I would be halfway through a scene, lol. That, and this month was packed with real life stuff that couldn't be ignored, like going up to see family/having someone stay with us, baby shenanigans, ect. So, in short, I'm super sorry that this is late, and even sorrier that this isn't filled with mind blowing action. This has a lot of set up for future things, so pay close attention to the hints dropped here and there.

Katara's airbending forms are real, just to let you know. 'The Lion Embraces the Ball' is a Ba Gua Zhang form, and the 'Seven Star Palm Strike' is a variant of a Kung Fu form I have seen preformed (though it probably would be closer to firebending, now that I'm rewatching it). They're very cool, and I wanted to have some authenticity to the forms here.

The idea of Suki knowing about Sozin's Comet is actually based on the fact that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes would have declared war on the Fire Nation for their crime of using the annual comet for genocide. Every child in the Earth Kingdom at least would be taught about it in their lessons, and tactically, anyone training their young ones to go to battle would be wary of the idea of it ever happening again, and inform their youngsters.

In honor of Kyoshi Island's uniquely Japanese flavor, I slipped in two references of Myazaki's film _Spirited Away._ Can you find them?

_Torii:_ A type of gateway found before a Shinto shrine, used alone or with multiple Torii to mark where the ground becomes holy. If you rewatch the episode _Avatar Day_, Kyoshi's shrine has one at the top of the hill it is built on. Suki's action of touching engraved sacred text is not Japanese (so far that I know), but a tiny private nod to my Jewish heritage. :)


	10. The Island of Kyoshi: Part Three

**The Island of Kyoshi: Part Three**

* * *

Time was irrelevant in the Spirit World.

One always had to be mindful of the fact that the laws of physics truly did not apply at all here- it was an aspect that carried over when Aang left the Spirit World, and allowed him to do things that he had never been able to do in life, even with airbending (walking through people was always great fun). However, there were downsides to visiting the Spirit World, and the most prominent one was the curious shifting of time. What might seem like a simple visit comprising of few minutes or a quarter of an hour could, in all actuality, easily be hours or days- possibly even _weeks-_ spent away from home without ever knowing it until you got back. Aang gleaned that particular little pearl of wisdom after his first return visit half a year after his death, when he found he had accidentally spent an entire month away from his new home as he sought out his past lives to find out more about the Avatar Spirit and how it worked. (He had been surprised to find upon returning that snow had fallen, blanketing the yellowed tundra grass and hardy little blue flowers that were prized for their distinct dye; and he found to his pride and disappointment that Katara had learned to crawl at an impressive speed in the time he was absent.) As a result, he rarely visited, and was always careful to try to get back as quickly as possible.

Getting back this time, however, would take a while. Whispering swirls of pale mist danced around Aang as he slowly made his way though the new swampy landscape. The standing water reached up to his knees, the soft silt and mud sucking at his boots and churning in a cloudy mass with every step he took, making his progress slow going. The cool water vapor caressing his skin momentarily reminded him of Katara, however, and it was a pleasant distraction from his uncomfortable surroundings. He thought of his friend's soft touch whenever she gave him a hug, of her soothing presence, and of how she naturally seemed to shift and flow in all aspects of her daily life. Even her airbending held a watery quality, come to think of it; she flowed with a grace that was different than the light, quick motions he himself had been taught. _She's going to be a terrific waterbender, being so in tune with her element and all._ He thought with a small smile, _I don't think she's even aware of how connected she is to it. _

She was unaware of a lot of things, actually. The young monk frowned as he remembered why he was here in the first place, and shook himself from his musings as he looked around in earnest for Roku. "Hello? Roku? ...Anyone?"

The only response he received was the subtle layers of soft whispers murmured by the mists, and Aang frowned as he wished for the umpteenth time that the Spirit World would stop changing from visit to visit. The last time he was here, it was bright and sunny, and it appeared he was in a grain field. This time, he was wading in a shrouded, dream-like swamp, filled with spirit glowflies and whispers that seemed more and more like actual words, if only it was a little more clear. It didn't bother Aang as much as it had when he first encountered the swirling mists a few years ago, but it was still unsettling to hear the many layers of childish voices come from all sides.

Brushing a flowering vine out of the way, Aang paused a moment to try and get his bearings. "Okay, I came from back there, so I must be heading... well, somewhere, I guess." He looked around and he realized, much to his disappointment, that he seemed to be walking around in circles, and would possibly keep on doing so for the remainder of his trip here. He leaned on the massive tree trunk next to him and heaved an aggravated sigh. _Perhaps this is the Spirit World's way of saying I just need to go home, and talk to her anyway. _He grimaced at the idea, imagining the firestorm that would be Katara upon finding out what he had been keeping from her.

No, she would definitely not be pleased.

As unappealing as that option was, however, it seemed that there was very little else left to do. Just as he was about to give up and go back however, the sturdy tree he was leaning against very suddenly withered and shriveled under his weight, and, without warning, gave way completely into nothingness, dumping the young monk sideways into the muddy water with a startled cry. As he floundered around and got back to his feet, sputtering and wondering what on earth could have caused that, a voice separated itself from the mist behind him.

"It's been a while, Avatar Aang."

Aang yelped, spinning around and nearly tripping again in his shock at the sound of Avatar Kyoshi directly behind him. Tendrils of mist wafted off her glowing form as the giant of a woman regarded him with a very faint smirk. He grinned apologetically, rubbing his arrow and blushing in embarrassment at his jumpiness. "Avatar Kyoshi! Heh heh, sorry about that. I'm still not used to how you guys can appear out of nowhere..." His eyes darted around, searching for any other past lives that might be hiding in the mist.

She inclined her head, her painted lips twitching upward a little more in amusement. "Don't worry yourself. I was the same way when the Mother Superior of the Eastern Air Temple taught me how to enter the Spirit World through meditation." She seemed to be remembering some private joke before she grew solemn, her jade eyes losing the warmth they briefly held as she studied him. "You are here for advice, correct?"

"How did you know?" He asked, a little awed that she guessed so quickly.

"You only ever come here when something is troubling you." She said bluntly, disapproval coloring her previously even tone. "Much time has been wasted, when you could have come more often and gained more knowledge to teach the new Avatar."

Aang winced, the remark hitting a nerve. "I...I know. That's part of why I came this time, actually. I've been waiting to tell Katara about the comet, and about the Fire Lord. How should I tell her? I've waited so long already, because I was afraid to say anything about it, and now that it's getting so close..."

Kyoshi was an intimidating woman even when she was friendly and open (which was not too often), and at Aang's words she drew herself up, her brow creased in a stony frown. The (now quieter) mist seemed to take on a chillier temperature at the mood change, and Kyoshi's frigid tone was the sternest he had ever heard in a person. "...You have not told her?"

He grimaced at the dangerously soft tone, knowing he was in a lot of trouble. Truthfully, he had already expected it upon coming here. "No. I was scared to. I didn't want her to grow up knowing that there's the possibility of her dying and failing. It's not _fair_, not after all the stuff she's been through that's making her grow up too fast as it i-"

"_Life_ is not fair, Aang, and it cannot be helped that Katara is being made to grow up before her time." Kyoshi cut him off sharply, looking more severe than he'd ever seen her. "You should have spoken to her about this much sooner. She would have had more time to prepare herself for the battle she'll have to face. Now there is the chance she won't be able to master everything she needs to know before the comet arrives."

She drew herself up fully, her impressive height dwarfing Aang's slight stature. "Do not forget that this is not about her feelings, or her well being. This is about the _world_. Everyone must sacrifice something in the end, Aang. She is strong enough to deal with the various possibilities. I believe that she would have made peace with the possibility of herself dying, if it means bringing peace to the world. By telling her now, however, being so late, she has far less of a chance to succeed."

There was no hiding the harsh condemnation, and Aang whimpered, realizing for the first time just how harmful it was to have waited so long. If Katara did die, it would largely be his fault, for not giving her time to prepare herself and train. In trying to spare her the pain and fear he himself had felt that day in the Council Room, so long ago, he had unknowingly hindered her chances of living to see the end of the war.

His eyes stung as it sank in, and he gulped down the miserable lump in his throat and tried valiantly not to cry in front of the previous Avatar. He hesitantly met Kyoshi's unrelenting gaze when she knelt down in the water to his level and prompted him to look at her, her fingers surprisingly gentle as she tilted his chin upward. Her firm expression softened just a tiny bit with an almost motherly annoyance. "I know you are very young, and that it's hard to be a good guide. I struggled too, at first, and Kuruk was simply terrible at guiding me. However, you _must_ meet your responsibilities. This is incredibly important. Your actions have an impact on _everyone's_ lives now, not just yourself and Katara. Do you understand?"

He nodded, once, twice, and managed to blink away unshed tears with some effort. Thankfully, his voice was steady as he answered her. "Yes, Avatar Kyoshi."

"Good." She stood, and tilted her head to the right, as if listening in on something that remained unseen in the dense swamp in which they stood. "Go on now. It would have been best had you spoken to her earlier, but that is in the past. Make things right with her, and guide her to the right teachers. For now, that is your duty, and it is her duty to learn as quickly as possible. Until next time, young one..."

Kyoshi's form had been growing more and more translucent as she spoke, until she became a part of the surrounding mist and dissipated away into nothing upon her last words, leaving Aang alone in the spirit swamp. He gulped down the stubborn lump in his throat, staring forlornly at the water and hugging himself as the surrounding mist seemed to murmur softly, echoing the disquiet he felt over the matter. The boy blew out a slow, steadying breath, and closed his eyes as he began to focus his energy on passing over to the physical world. _I guess I have no choice but to go back and tell her everything, from start to finish,_ He thought as he began to fade, _I just hope that I'll still be her friend by the end of this..._

* * *

"_What?_ What do you mean I only have two years?"

The heavy rumble of thunder and wet downpour of torrential rain outside were the only sounds to be heard in the (now ridiculously dim) dojo as everyone stilled at Katara's question, all eyes on the young avatar as she stared aghast at youngest Kyoshi Warrior.

Suki's expression was one of utmost confusion as she reeled in her brain from her petty argument with Sokka and tried to process the growing confusion and fear on her friend's face. "What do I mean?" She echoed, confused, "The Great Comet- I mean, Sozin's Comet..._everyone_ knows that it comes once every hundred years. It'll be back in two years."

_Two years? _Katara shook her head, slowly at first, and gradually faster as it became more of a nervous tick than a conscious effort on her part. "What on earth does a comet have to do with any kind of deadline I have?" She wondered aloud, bewildered and still too deep in shock to be angry at the fact she had a deadline at all. "What does it have to do with _anything_?"

Alarmed, Midori took in the shell shocked expressions as a bright flash of lightning briefly illuminated the water tribe siblings' faces with a stunning white light. The following crack of thunder seemed to rattle inside everyone's chest, and the rain poured harder, if that was possible. Momo screeched in fear and curled himself closer around Katara's shoulders, his little head buried beneath his paws and his fur standing on end.

"You really have no idea?" Midori asked quietly, waiting for the trailing rumbles of thunder to fade out before she spoke. "_Neither_ of you?"

Upon seeing the confused siblings trade dismayed glances, she threw her hands in the air with a noise of disbelief, appalled that this all important bit of information was actually news to them. "Sweet mother of Kyoshi, _you_ of all people should know about that, Avatar Katara! Your own past life probably died when the firebenders used the comet's power when it came last time. That's how the Nomads died."

At the mention of Aang, Katara drew a horrified breath, her mind flashing back to her nightmare from last night. Slowly at first, the puzzle pieces that had been bugging her for the last few days finally fell into place, and the full realization was a terrible thing. The wanton destruction of everything dear to her best friend... _it wasn't from regular firebending._ She had wondered, upon looking at the ruins of the Southern Air Temple, how an entire beautiful, strong culture such as the Air Nomads could be killed off in such a short time; how thousands of years of history ingrained in the very stones used to build the Temple could be reduced to rubble, still blackened and scorched nearly a century after the deed. Now it was clear how all the airbenders, so clever and elusive, could have fallen at the hands of the Fire Nation...

...and how Aang's insistence that he really was the very last of his nation could be true after all.

"The Fire Nation used the power from the Comet as it passed by!" Sokka said quietly, arriving at the same awful conclusion. "I thought it was just the invading army!"

Yoko, a rather beefy looking fifteen year old with mousy brown hair swept up into a long tail beneath her headdress, fidgeted nervously as the rest of her comrades traded troubled glances. "How could you have not learned of it in your history lessons? Every child who goes to school knows about the genocide of the Air Nomads, and how it happened. The Fire Nation will be wanting to use it again, I'm sure, should they have a plan to invade Ba Sing Se and possibly end the war for good. Tactically, they'd be stupid not to."

It was like a shock of cold water to them both, and it left Katara gasping for air. She had known that she would have to defeat the Fire Nation someday, but now 'someday' was a _lot_ sooner than she expected. The idea that she would have to prevent another genocide _and_ end a near century long war, sometime before her fifteenth birthday... _ How is this even going to _work_? I'm just one kid! _She began to panic, her thoughts becoming a muddled mess as she tried desperately to come to terms with it all. _I'm nowhere near ready for that kind of responsibility! I haven't even mastered my own element, and I'm not done with airbending training. How in the world am I supposed to stop an entire nation if I'm not a fully realized Avatar? _

Watching his sister come dangerously close to tears, Sokka scowled at the increasingly uncomfortable looking female warriors and he shooed Momo away from Katara's shoulders before looping a protective arm around her in an attempt to steady her (preferably before she could enter into a potentially dangerous, freaky freak out like she had before with Mom). "So you people think it's perfectly okay to harass my little sister with questions of what she's going to do about the Earth Kingdom, when you guys have a bunch of earthbending soldiers with our Tribe backing you up, and not to mention _you yourselves_?" He snorted indignantly. "She's twelve, not twenty! Only a few years ago she was playing with dolls, for crying out loud! We've just left home, and now you want her to take on responsibilities you people are too afraid to take on, in _two year's time_?"

He rubbed her arm in an awkward attempt to comfort her, even as he glared at the guilty looking girls in disgust. "I don't know about you, but the sooner we leave stupid, pushy people like you behind and get to the North Pole, the better."

Suki had nothing to say, her pride and her conscience stinging under the water tribe boy's surprisingly bold defense of his sister, and all the girls present shifted uncomfortably under the rebuke. It was a different way of looking at what they were doing, and coming from a culture who hated cowardice, the young warriors couldn't deny that it looked like they were being selfish and unpatriotic to everyone else by not participating in the war effort.

The drawn out silence- barring the raging storm outside- allowed Katara to process everything long enough to realize that she couldn't possibly do this alone. She was going to need help if she was going to have a chance at fulfilling her calling, and looking at the girls assembled before her, she realized Sokka was right (if a little harsh). These girls were capable of so much, and she needed _all_ the help she could find.

She took a deep breath and straightened, visibly pulling herself together as a strangely hopeful confidence gradually filled her and chased her fear and anger over the matter to the back of her mind. Perhaps, with some help, her impossible mission might not be so impossible after all. Perhaps she would actually survive the battle and be able see a world that Mom had always wanted, free from suffering and hardship.

Meeting the girls in the eye, she looked for just a moment much older than any twelve year old ought to as she spoke. "I know tradition is important, and I know how hard it is to leave home," She said slowly, gathering her thoughts and becoming more certain as she voiced aloud her idea. "But Sokka is right- you can do so much more to help the world than stay here. I've seen you fight! I've seen you train, and I _know_ you can help me end this war! _Please_... help me. I can't do this alone. You honor Kyoshi by fighting in a style she invented. Will you honor me now as your Avatar, and fight for your kingdom as well as your home?"

Sokka looked at his little sister as if she had sprouted two heads, wondering where the heck this sudden, very mature sounding inspirational speech had come from. Whatever the cause of it was, however, it seemed to have a profound impact upon the warriors. After a long moment, Midori's sharp green eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled a truly genuine smile, the kind reserved for friends and equals before tucking her hands together in front of her chest and bowing before the startled water tribe girl. "As leader of this division of the Kyoshi Warriors, I can say that we would be deeply honored to join you on your mission, Avatar Katara."

* * *

The storm did not allow anyone to leave shelter for a few hours, and once it finally tapered off to a sprinkle, the Avatar and her friends emerged from the dojo and took in the sight of gnarled, uprooted trees and general chaos and destruction everywhere they turned. It was then that they realized the storm had been in fact a small hurricane, and as the storm left Kyoshi Island's (rather waterlogged) vicinity, it barreled furiously northward over the next few hours, skirting the coastline and heading right for the _Interceptor_ as she cut across the sea towards General Fong's base.

Unaware of the oncoming foul weather, Zhao and his men had made excellent time in their day's travel, and after debriefing his men, he dismissed them. He made his nightly report in his log and went into his quarters for the evening, a poster bearing Fong's likeness in his hand. He studied it with interest as he paused by his bed, taking in the long beard and squat topknot, and taking special note of the smirk that adorned the middle aged earthbender's face. _By tomorrow we'll start our invasion on the General's base, _He thought, sneering at the poster._ It's almost a pity, he doesn't even know that we're coming into his waters. Such a short but glorious battle it will be._

He imagined wiping that stupid smug grin off that bearded face, and with one last look at the belligerent looking Earth Kingdom General, he clenched his fist; the paper alighting in a brilliant burst of flames before curling into indistinct ashes to the floor. Zhao allowed a feral grin as he took off his armor and got ready for bed. If he had anything to say about it, Fong would match his portrait this time tomorrow.

Fate, however, seemed to have other plans. It was several hours into the night when a bell could be heard, the sound slowly seeping into Zhao's subconscious as he slept. "Rouse the Captain! A storm is coming upon us, I need him to keep our heading!" Shouted the helmsman, prompting the second watchman to ring the bell and send the warning throughout the ship.

A crew member still shaking off sleep barged into Zhao's quarters, staggering a little as he accidentally hit his head on the door frame in his haste, and the flame in his hand sputtered out briefly before he regained his composure. "Captain! A storm is coming up, the crew needs you topside now!"

Zhao grunted as he dragged himself from the last vestiges of sleep, his topknot askew and his eyes bleary as he peered at the man and realized that he was not dreaming about the sound of a bell after all. "_What_? There was no signs of foul weather last night!"

Nevertheless, the violent rocking of the ship proved to him the truth in his soldier's plea. "Get out of my way!" Zhao snarled as he tried his best to muster his muscles out of the stiffness from sleep and reached for his armor, swiftly dressing and heading topside. When he reached the deck Zhao was shocked at the violence of the weather, his crew fighting the best they knew how against the storm and obviously floundering as the wind and waves repeatedly buffeted them. The seas were the highest he'd seen since early on in his career, and that was caused by nothing less than a tropical hurricane before it made landfall.

Setting his resolve to ride out the storm he ran up towards the bridge. "Helmsman! What's our heading? Give me the bearings!" Zhao barked over the noise of the gale force winds.

"43 degrees east, 78 degrees south, Captain!" replied the helmsman, blinking rapidly to clear the rain out of his eyes and as he read the instruments.

Zhao swore, feeling his previous ire mount tenfold. They were _disastrously_ off course. "Idiot! You should have called me sooner! Now we have to turn her around - at this rate we'll hit the Earth Kingdom coast eighty miles to the south!"

"I'm sorry sir, the storm came up so fast we didn't have the time to alter our course before it struck!"

It was a stupid excuse, but Zhao didn't have the time to chew him out. He shoved the man aside. "Give me the Helm! Get midship and call out my orders to the rest of the crew, they wont hear me in the bow!"

"Yes sir!" The helmsman snapped to attention and he ran down to the center of the ship, only to shriek in surprise when the ship pitched sharply to port, a monstrous wave nearly washing him overboard. The blasted rain didn't make matters any easier on the crew, and Zhao sputtered as he was thoroughly drenched head to toe. _This is getting ridiculous. Worst of all, it's too late to head into the eye of the storm. If we're lucky, we'll get out of this with minimal damage. _

If that was going to happen, he needed everyone to cooperate with him as he fought to keep the _Interceptor_ from getting too far off course. The waves were almost too much for the ship to bear, but with careful maneuvering Zhao rode out every one while trying to regain the correct heading and barking out orders. "Secure all canons and catapults! Tell the men in the watch tower to get lashed down! Get more coal in the engines!"

The sounds of their captain's shouting kept stirring the soldiers to hold out longer, knowing that Zhao had it the hardest of them all with the wind and the rain beating down on him from every angle. Finally, Zhao resolved that the power of the hurricane was too great for him to try to keep their course steady and turned the ship to the south were it had came from._ It'll be the fastest way to get out of it and save my men, _He resolved, _Three have already been swept overboard, and I'll be damned before I lose any more! _

The last order many of the men heard out of their captain was for all firebenders to stay below deck; and as the soldiers hunkered down for the night, they prayed the sailors and their captain would be successful in controlling the ship, and that _Agni's_ glorious light would shine soon.

* * *

When Aang reentered into the physical world, it was immediately apparent that he had been gone _far_ more than the few hours like he had originally planned. Dawn's rosy hues colored the sky and filled Sokka and Katara's bedroom with warmth and light, and from the vantage point of the window it illuminated the soggy wreckage that was once a tidy little town. His eyes widened as he stared out the window for a full minute before turning around and frantically looking to see if his friends were still here.

He let out a breath of relief when he spotted them in their beds with Momo curled up on Sokka's back, though he was a little surprised (and slightly dismayed) to find that both siblings were caked with dry mud from the shins on down, and Sokka's blanket was comically drawn halfway over his body with his legs entirely exposed, like he had crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Katara wasn't much better, her hair was still loosely bound in her braid, and dark half moons appeared underneath her eyes, further adding to the sense that the two had merely crashed instead of going through their usual nightly routine. He wondered uneasily if they had been caught in the middle of the chaos that was outside. Hopefully not, though their filthy and bedraggled appearance testified otherwise. He gently shook Katara's shoulder, determined to find out what happened. _"Psst! Hey...Katara?"_

She gradually roused with a moan, sitting up and swaying slightly as she blearily blinked up at the worried face of her translucent friend. "Aang? Wha- what time is it?" She half yawned, dragging a hand over her face and missing his worried frown.

He regarded her cautiously. _"Umm... well, it's most definitely sunrise, so I'd say it's just a little bit before we normally get up. What happened to you and Sokka? How long was I gone?"_

Katara blinked away the sleep still clinging so stubbornly to her, and as the fog cleared from her brain, she remembered a few important details:

One: After the storm allowed them to leave the dojo, she and Sokka helped the Kyoshi Warriors do a quick scan of the villagers (and Appa), directing the ones who had the most damage to their homes towards proper shelter with a neighbor before going back to Oyaji's and practically falling into their beds with exhaustion. It didn't help that she had _very_ little sleep the night before, so it was no surprise that she felt a little lightheaded and irrationally irritated with Aang for waking her up so soon.

Two: She remembered that yesterday afternoon, Aang had left for the Spirit World for some reason or another, and he must have just come back. She felt a little of her annoyance drain away at his concerned expression until she remembered detail number three:

"Aang, before you ask me what happened last night, I have a question for _you_..."

The spirit boy tensed at the deceptively conversational tone, instinctively getting a very bad feeling about where this was going when she turned rather haunted looking bloodshot eyes towards him.

"...When exactly were you going to tell me about the Comet?"

Sokka was startled awake with the furious airblast that Katara tossed across the room seconds after Aang's intelligent response of "_Um... right now?"._ The blanket (and a screeching Momo) were immediately caught up in the erratic breeze and flung across the room, prompting Sokka to swivel partway up from his stomach and onto his elbows, looking wildly around with half unfocused eyes. "_Ughsfhvh?! _Wha-what's going on?"

"You knew about it the _entire_ time, and you never thought to tell me about it until _now_?!"

Sokka sat up fully, peering at his very loud, very angry sister in confusion and annoyance, absently shushing a traumatized Momo as the lemur scurried over to his side and chattered at Katara irately. _Ugh_. _It's way too early for this..._ "What are you _talking_ about, Katara?"

She ignored him, and seemed to pause for a few seconds before uttering an outraged noise of disbelief. "I had to hear it from the warriors, Aang! I looked like an idiot in front of them, and-"

_Oh. Aang's back. _He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, and stared at his sister as she gestured and raged at her invisible past life with all the scathing fury of an ice storm. Normally, he'd feel sorry for whatever poor sap was on the receiving end of Katara's righteous anger, but this time Sokka was genuinely torn between feeling like coming to Aang's rescue, and letting the spirit boy have it for withholding the information he did.

After ten minutes of watching Katara shout and rave at the air, his belly decided that Aang had enough of the well deserved tongue lashing. He staggered out of bed and clumsily patted Katara on the shoulder on his way out the door. "Hey, I know you need to chew him out an' all- I do too, actually- but we need to eat something. We never had any dinner, and I'm _starving_! See you two down stairs."

Katara's stomach growled loudly, echoing her retreating brother's point and making her realize just how hungry she really was. She sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, propping her hands on her hips in an unconscious echo of Mom's classic scolding/deeply annoyed stance as she glared at him. "Alright. We're going to talk about this later, Aang. For now, we need to eat, and we're supposed to meet up here with the Kyoshi warriors for breakfast anyway." She stiffly turned on her heel and made her way to the door, and briefly glanced back over her shoulder before she left the room.

Aang's reluctance as he hovered meekly by the window sent an unexpected prick of guilt as he looked up at her with wounded eyes that pleaded for her to understand. A few seconds ticked by, each moment working to drain the fight and fury in Katara away until there was nothing left but hurt. She looked down at the floor, her throat aching with the need to cry. Even though she had the right to be furious with him it wasn't accomplishing anything, but to further the distance between them. Time was short, and she needed Aang ...more than he could ever know. She needed him to help her and be upfront with her, and that wasn't going to happen if he was going to be afraid of her flipping out over the harsher realities that this whole stupid Avatar thing brought with it.

Her voice unstuck itself from her throat as she swallowed her pride. "I'm... I'm sorry, Aang. I'm sorry for shouting at you." She hesitantly turned around fully to face him, and though she fought it, tears started to sting her eyes and roughen her voice as the one question that had been rolling around in her mind voiced itself at last. "It's just... how could you _keep_ this from me, Aang? I thought you were my friend."

"_I _am_ your friend!" _Aang protested stridently, taking a few steps forward in alarm. _"You should know that by now!" _

"Then why didn't you tell me about this? Friends don't keep secrets from each other, and this wasn't your secret to keep!"

If it was possible, the spirit boy seemed to wilt further._"I know that now, and I'm so sorry... I just didn't want you to live your life being afraid of having to defeat the Fire Nation. I was so scared when I found out about being the Avatar that I ran away, and died because of it. I didn't want that for you. You deserve a life of happiness and peace. I thought... if I could just wait until you were just a little older, you wouldn't have to live life afraid. _No_ kid should be afraid to die."_

It felt like she was back to being eight years old again, standing with Aang on top of the bright ocean water in her dream and asking why he never told her the truth of who she was. He had said then that he was afraid, but he never really clarified. Now she finally understood just how afraid he had been, and why. It still didn't wash away the fear _she_ felt, but it was good to finally have everything out in the open.

They closed the small distance between themselves, and she buried her head in his shoulder, a few tears escaping as she held him tight. She was unreasonably grateful for Aang's returning grip, and for his murmured reassurances that she wasn't alone. _"It'll be okay. We've _all_ gone through it before, and I know how scary this is." _The nomad pulled back, and Katara was relieved to see the beginning of a smile tug at the corners of his lips. "_But Kyoshi was right, you _are_ strong enough to handle this, and you're going to be strong enough to win the war. I'm going to be with you every step of the way, and I'll be there at the end to tell you 'I told you so'. I _promise_." _

Katara nodded with a watery smile, pulling him off balance as she tugged him into another brief hug. It was Aang's simple conviction that she _would_ win the war that banished some of Katara's fear, for the moment, and helped bolster her own hopeful confidence. Perhaps, with a little time and help, she really would win this war after all.

They pulled away with a sheepish laugh when her stomach growled insistently, the moment passing and reminding them how late it was getting. "Come on," She beckoned with a nod towards the door before turning to leave, "Sokka and the girls are waiting. There's a lot you missed out on while you were gone."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

_Agni_, in case you don't know, is the Fire Nation's name for the sun, and it appears to be their primary deity aside from the Avatars past (Roku seemed to have been immensely respected in canon, enough to where he still has his own temple on Crescent Island.)

Kyoshi appeared instead of Roku because Katara had unknowingly made contact with her (by touching her fans in the shrine), and because Aang needed a Toph-like kick in the pants. Plus, Kyoshi's cool. Don't mess with her.

The weird whispering mist was directly inspired by _The Secret of Kells_. If you haven't seen the film DO IT. It's fabulous!

A huge shout out to my awesome hubby, who knows far more about nautical stuff than I could ever hope to learn about! He handled a lot of what Zhao would be doing on a ship, and he's my official go-to man when it comes to the Fire Navy and what they would realistically do. Just another reason why I love him!

Next chapter should be written a little more quickly than this one, since I've actually got a plot for the next chapter written out (and I won't be writing with a vicious cold clouding my brain). So, I blame the cold if there are any mistakes that made it past this final edit. I'll try to re-read this chapter later, after I go to bed and wake up feeling better in the morning. Ciao!


	11. New Friend, New Enemies

**Chapter Six: New Friend, New Enemies **

* * *

"_I'm coming too!"_

Suki- _The Serpent's Pass _

* * *

"_Ugh_.. Are we landing yet? _Please_ tell me we're landing soon!"

Sokka couldn't quite help the unkind snicker that escaped him as he beheld the rather sick expression of their new passenger. "What, don't tell me that you're getting _woozy_ from flying for one measly hour!"

Suki, three shades paler than usual beneath her warrior's paint, glared weakly at Sokka's ribbing attempts and tried to ignore the weird flipping sensation inside her belly. "I am _not_ woozy!" She protested, determinedly keeping her eyes away from looking over the edge of the saddle."I'm just... I'm not used to this, okay? The highest I've ever been was in a tree, and that wasn't flying top speed over the ocean!"

Katara and Aang couldn't help their amused laughter at the idea of a flying tree from their place at Appa's reins (where Aang was currently trying to teach the young Avatar the finer points of guiding a flying bison in flight), and they earned another sour glare from their newest friend.

It had been a pleasant surprise to the Gaang when they had all gathered for breakfast two days ago to hear Midori announce that she and the other Kyoshi Warriors were inspired to help the Avatar change the world for the better, and she asked permission from Oyaji to take her warriors and leave for the mainland to help with the refugee relief effort they had heard about. However, the real shock of the morning was when Suki stood and specifically asked to join Katara on her journey up to the North Pole. After a long discussion between her mother, Katara, and Oyaji, it was decided that she would act as a representative of the Earth Kingdom when up North, as well as take account for the Islanders what was really going on with the war. Midori would be sending reports back as well, and it seemed that the staunch isolationism of the town was finally melting away into a slightly proactive society, beginning with the Kyoshi Warriors.

The rest of that day and all of the next had been a flurry of activity in the newly repaired town. Oyaji had sent a letter to one of their two neighboring villages and requested that their band of warriors could be called in should an emergency require them in the absence of his own. Suki was busy packing and saying her goodbyes to her family and friends, as well as getting last minute orders from both Oyaji and Midori. Katara had taken it upon herself to restock as much food and supplies as possible, while Sokka trailed behind carrying the baskets, grumbling that the air would be filled with 'ball shrinking estrogen' with the two girls in the same saddle. He had received a slap upside the wolftail for his comment, and Aang laughed in the background, taking the preparatory chaos in stride and feeling better than he had since the whole journey started. Things were looking up, and it felt great to be flying in the fresh morning air and feeling the wind on his face, and it felt even better to have Katara still be his friend after all the ridiculous drama that took place on the Island.

Now, if only he could teach her how to steer properly...

"_Okay, let's try this again. _Slowly_ steer us both down and to the right."_

Suki let out a surprisingly high pitched shriek when Appa took a sharp, curving dive, and the ocean came up to meet them at a terrifying pace before the bison righted himself with a mighty downward sweep of his tail that sent ocean spray everywhere. Sokka gripped the saddle's edge with one hand while snagging a rolling basket with the other, and though he was internally laughing at Suki's reaction, he was starting to seriously question Katara's driving skills. "What the heck was _that_, Katara? You just about dumped us and all our supplies into the ocean!"

"Sorry!"

Momo, who was flying beside Appa catching bugs, didn't seem to mind his giant friend's erratic flight patterns, but Appa blew out a long, whooshing breath through his nose, offering a scolding_ 'Chuff chuff!'_ at the two young Avatars for their less than stellar attempts at steering. Aang petted Appa on the head soothingly. _"Sorry buddy, but it's all a part of an airbender's training- she's gotta learn how to handle a flying bison sometime. I might be the last Air Nomad, but nobody ever said that the bison or lemurs are all gone- look at Momo! By the time we find more bison, Katara will already know how to properly handle her own, am I right?"_

Properly mollified at the idea that it was a reverse breaking in, Appa nonetheless uttered a low hum deep in his throat, a sound that adult bison reserved for silly calves that both amused and annoyed their elders.

Katara angled a suspicious look at Aang, who muffled a laugh with his hand. "What did he just say to me? I _know_ he was saying something about me just now!"

The smile on his face radiated mischief, and the all too familiar expression made her suspicion skyrocket. "..._Nothin', just that he says he likes you a lot but you have a ways to go in trying out for a polo tournament."_

She huffed, though she couldn't quite fight off her answering smile. "He did _not_! I'm just starting out, what does he expect?"

Appa glanced up at her with a very ironic expression for an animal, and offered a _'Grummmmmmm' _in reply.

"_He says-"_

Katara held up a hand and rolled her eyes. "Oh shush, you two."

"Who are you talking to?"

Katara turned to see Suki peering cautiously at her over the saddle lip, her brow twisted in confusion. She mentally smacked herself for not introducing Suki to Aang before. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to tell you about Aang!"

Suki's brow rose a notch. "Who is Aang?"

"It's her invisible boyfriend that no one else can see or hear but her."

"He is not my boyfriend, Sokka!" Katara blushed madly, scowling at her brother's gleeful needling. She turned to Suki, wrangling the conversation back to the original topic with a warning glare at her smirking brother. "Ignore him, Suki. Aang is the Avatar who came before me," She explained, "My father found him inside an iceberg on a hunting trip, and when he freed Aang, he died, since he was frozen inside for almost ninety years and the Avatar Spirit can't keep someone alive forever. Since I happened to be born that very day, I guess the Avatar Spirit decided to choose me as the next Avatar. Aang has been by my side ever since."

Suki straightened, her eyes widening and momentarily forgetting her fear of flying in her astonishment. "_Wow_! You can talk to him, whenever you want?"

Katara nodded. "When I was little I followed Aang around like a baby otterpenguin begging him to tell me stories, and sometimes we would go on little adventures on the tundra outside our village and play pretend." She smiled at Aang fondly, and their eyes both shone with the shared memories of their little adventures together. "I'm pretty sure he's the reason Gran Gran had amulets and charms strung up in our home. I suppose she caught me talking to him, and thought I was talking to a ghost."

"_She's pretty sharp for an old lady," _Aang agreed with a grimace, remembering the very incident that had caused it. Though Katara had forgotten bits and pieces of it, Aang fully remembered the time when she had discovered that he could walk through solid objects (something he had decided to do one day to entertain her), and she had grabbed his wrist with the intention of running off and telling her family about it. Being a rambunctious three year old, she had never given much thought to the fact that she was the only one who could see him, and tried to talk to him (and about him) wherever they were, including when Gran Gran Kanna was babysitting. _"You tried to show your Gran how I could walk through things, and she went to see the Shaman two minutes later."_

Katara coughed self consciously. "Oh yeah, now I remember."

Suki tilted her head to the side, studying the seemingly empty spot next to Katara (and the one-sided conversation) with unconstrained awe. Intrigue and wonder finally forced her to cave in to her childish curiosity, and she clasped her hands together as the questions poured out of her. "What's he saying right now? What does he look like? Is he a really old man, then? Tell me _everything_!"

Sokka tipped his head backward and let it clonk on the saddle lip with a groan as Suki's excitement fed his sister's enthusiasm over having someone to talk about Aang with. Not that he really minded or anything, but it just made a weird situation for him become even weirder. "Great. Now we have _two_ fan girls for you, Invisiboy- one of them a _literal_ fan girl. Maybe _I_ should freeze myself in a magical iceberg and become a ghost so I can hang around a girl all the time."

Conveniently forgotten for the moment, Aang rolled his eyes and floated into the saddle._ "Believe me, being dead is not as cool as you think it is, Sokka." _He paused, then quirked an eyebrow at the boy. _"Wait, what do you mean 'hang around a girl'? _Suki's_ a girl."_

Of course, it went unheard by everyone as Katara continued filling Suki in on Aang's story and his appearance (He blushed when he caught something about his tattoos, which prompted even more questions), and Sokka uttered an annoyed whine at being ignored himself. The teenager stretched out on the saddled floor and pulled out the map again, studying their route with ever growing despair as the girls chattered on in the background. Two months worth of traveling on a flying bison with two girls, a lemur, and an invisible kid who liked to pull pranks on him? "Ugh... something tells me that this is going to be a _long_ trip."

* * *

Zhao was in the most foul of moods.

The soldiers and crew had survived the storm none the worse for wear (minus the unfortunate three who were washed overboard), but the same could not be said of the _Interceptor._ Deep in the bowels of the ship the captain scowled at the two engines that had failed as he contemplated what his options were, his back ramrod straight and his hands clasped behind his back.

_Two of five engines down. Of all the damnable luck! Now I'll _never_ get to Fong's base, and that idiot Yao will end up heading the mission while we're stuck limping along the Earth Kingdom coast._

As they had cut through the worst of the storm and headed south, the first engine's crankshaft ground to a halt when the piston broke around halfway through the night, and the second engine succumbed to the same fate when Zhao had ordered the other four to take up the slack. To prevent the boiler from getting too pressurized (and blowing up the _Interceptor_ sky high), he had the engineers bleed the pressure from the remaining three; and without the forward momentum of all the engines, the storm had taken over in steering the ship. Once they cleared the storm's path and morning's light became a very welcome sight for sore eyes, Zhao was able to see the damages, and just how far they had been blown off course. There was no way they could go back towards Fong's base with two engines out of commission and still win the battle (though, once he thought about it, he'd still be faster than that miserable tub the Fire Lord had recently given the banished prince). The only thing that could be done was get to a nearby port, send a messenger hawk to Admiral Ochir to tell him of their predicament, and do what they could for repairs. Now, a day and a half after the hawk was sent, the Interceptor was docked at a pitifully small Earth Kingdom port called Ban, and was currently awaiting further orders from the Admiral as well as word from the three crew members Zhao had sent ahead to scout out the town.

Thankfully, the soon-to-be retired admiral was very prompt, and it turned out that his fleet wasn't too far away from where Zhao's current location was. Light poured in the dimly lit boiler room where Zhao brooded, and he knew without bothering to look up that First Mate Lan Fan must be bringing him steps made hollow _tak tak tak _as she marched down the stairwell, and once she was by his side she bowed and held out a scroll, the metal cylinder reflecting the dull red glow of the fire. "Captain. A messenger hawk came today, sir. It's one of Admiral Ochir's, by the seal." It was passed into his waiting hand, and with another smart bow the tall, dark haired woman backed up a respectful few feet and faced the engines as she waited for Zhao to give his next order.

Cracking open the seal, Zhao scanned the contents of the letter. The news didn't make him happy, even though he had been expecting something like this. "We are ordered to try and repair the _Interceptor_ as best as we can, and rejoin the Western Fleet after we restock our provisions and repair the engines." He silently read the post script, and felt a flash of satisfaction at how Ochir commended him for getting through the storm with so few casualties. _Hopefully this will bump me up to the rank of Commander, if all goes well and I rejoin the fleet soon. _

"If there is anything else needing to be reported, we shall let him know." He continued aloud, "For now, we will do what we're ordered, and get the _Interceptor_ repaired as quickly as possible." He tucked the scroll into his belt and handed back the empty cylinder, feeling even more irritated. At least a week would pass before the two engines could be up and running again, provided this backwater town had the parts they needed, and he hated the idea of being stuck here longer than absolutely necessary. "Get into the mess and get the engineers for me. I need to discuss some things with them."

Lan Fan concealed the urge to wince as she recognized the look in her Captain's eyes. The next few days were going to be _very_ difficult with a very irate Captain on board, and it was her unlucky job to run interference. She bowed, and backed away quickly. "Yes sir."

* * *

Evening was well under way when Aang (and a thankfully improved Katara) steered Appa into a forest clearing, just outside a small port town called Ban. Suki was the first to slide down from Appa's tail, taking a moment to stretch her legs and revel in the feeling of solid, unmoving earth beneath her feet; and as the others dismounted Appa let out a pleased groan and settled heavily in the grass with a billowing sigh of relief. It had been a long day of travel for everyone, and this was the first time Appa had gone so far with so many passengers and supplies on his back in a long time. Aang patted his nose and offered an apple as a 'thank you' while Katara enlisted Sokka's help in removing the saddle. Suki watched with interest as the young Avatar easily bent a small cushion of air beneath the saddle once Sokka loosened the straps, slowly lifting the heavy burden off of the bison and half setting/half dropping it in the dirt beside her brother, who turned and waved Suki forward.

"I'm sure it's a little late to ask this," Sokka began, sifting through the packs and baskets for the one containing the supplies for supper and hefting it on his shoulder, "But you _did_ bring a tent as well as a bed roll, right?"

Halfway bent in picking up her personal pack from the saddle, Suki froze and her eyes flared wide. She straightened slowly, suddenly feeling stupid beyond belief. "Umm... you know, funny you should mention a tent..."

Everyone (including Aang, who had just retrieved the grooming brush from the saddle) stared at her. "Oh no," Katara groaned, "You only brought your clothes and a bed roll?"

It had been a long, long time since Suki had ever felt so horrifically embarrassed- not since her first day of training when she was eight. Her face flushed a deep scarlet, and she adjusted her headband compulsively. "Er... well, at home we never had a need for anything like a tent, and there isn't a single one on the Island. I completely forgot that I would need one on our travels, with all the things that happened before we took off this morning."

Sokka uttered a noise stuck somewhere between panic and outrage. _"What!?_ How could you _forget_ something like that? Where did you expect to sleep!?"

Suki blushed, immediately on the defensive. "I thought we would be either sleeping under the stars or we would be in some sort of shelter, like an inn or something!"

Her face flushed even deeper when Sokka had the audacity to slowly smirk at her. "An 'inn'? You mean have someone in a town have us sleep in their house?" He shook his head with an amused snort. "Katara might be the Avatar, but we can't rely on people's kindness every single time we stop for the night, and we don't have money to pay anyone yet! Besides, even if we did, we would need to buy food or other things that we'd need, not a room."

He was right. Secretly, the idea of traveling with the Avatar in her mind prior to this had been very romanticized, without the gritty, everyday realities of bugs, wild animals, or bad weather clouding her preconceptions of adventure. Now that she was forced to look at _that_ side of things, she felt like an idiot for not thinking of it beforehand.

Katara held up a hand to halt the argument before it could go farther. "Okay, let's calm down. Thanks to Oyaji we do have a little money on hand, so we'll just have to go into town and buy one in the morning. For now, I guess you can sleep next to me in my tent."

"_Aww, come on_," Aang whined childishly, "_I won't be able to talk to you if she's right there. It'll get all weird, just like back before you told everyone about me._"

The whole thing was becoming more and more ridiculous by the second, and Katara swallowed down a laugh at his petulant expression. "Aang, I know you've been with me since the day I was born, and I like talking to you before I go to sleep. But Suki needs a place to sleep too, and I'm _sure_ Sokka isn't going to want her next to him."

"Darn right I don't!" Sokka shuddered at the mere thought, and decided that he needed to be as far away from the conversation as possible. "I'm going to collect firewood. Tell Aang that he ain't allowed to haunt my tent while I sleep. Bad enough he plays tricks during the day!"

Katara finally allowed a giggle to escape as Aang blew out a sarcastic raspberry at her retreating brother's back, and he turned to grin impishly at her. "_What? He's just too much fun to rile up! I can't help it if he just gave me a great idea for tonight."_

"Oh no you don't," She playfully whapped the side of his head, prompting an amused yelp as he danced out of the way too late. "Don't you dare keep us all up with his rants! We need to visit the town for Suki's tent before we leave, and I'd like to do it earlier rather than later in the morning."

Suki watched the one sided conversation between the Avatar and the empty space next to the floating grooming brush with a growing sense of concern and awkwardness. Did... did Katara just _hit_ her own past life? Was that even _allowed_?

_Apparently it is,_ She concluded when Katara yelped as her long braid suddenly straightened with a jerk (the past Avatar- _Aang_, she corrected herself- seemed to have tugged on it). She deftly stepped aside as Katara took a running leap and seemed to jump on the invisible spirit, laughing like she was five instead of twelve when she (and presumably Aang as well) went down in a smoldering wreak after weaving around a few steps, dust flying everywhere and generally shattering Suki's preconceptions about the Avatar all over again.

Doing her utmost not to stare like an idiot, the warrior girl busied herself with unpacking the saddle and tried to come to terms with what she had just witnessed. _No wonder Sokka acts the way he does about his sister talking to her past life. He's seen this since he was a kid and is ..._used_ to it!_

She wasn't sure that she would ever really get used to it herself (how does one get used to seeing the Avatar goof around with her own invisible past life like they were brother and sister?) but one thing was certain: Suki would be keeping one eye open tonight... just in case Aang got bored harassing Sokka.

* * *

The next morning's breeze was stiff and chilly coming in from the ocean, and the gray sky promised rain later on in the afternoon, reflecting Lan Fan's mood. She wrapped her crimson cape a little tighter around her shoulders and narrowed her dark brown eyes warily at the equally wary milling crowd of green in the pitiful town below. She stood to attention along with the engineers gathered and allowed the Captain to sweep past her before following. Studying him, Lan Fan couldn't quite shake the feeling that the day's events were going to be outside of their initial plans- Zhao seemed to be in a much more upbeat, purposeful mood than the day before. "Captain, are you sure this is our only option?" She finally asked cautiously, "Taking all of our engineers with us into port... won't it leave our ship open to sabotage?"

Ignoring the chill in the air, Zhao smoothly reassured her as they made their way down to the docks. "On the contrary, this is the _best_ thing we can do to prevent any sabotage attempts. Our firebenders are all on board with orders to stand watch, and our engineers will be able to look carefully to be sure that the parts we need are in fact sound and ready to use."

Glancing back down at the rather seedy market, she allowed a frown to work it's way over her deceptively delicate features. "What if no one cooperates with us? We _are_ in enemy territory now."

It was an understandable and sensible concern, judging the people who were now openly staring at them with hostile and frightened expressions as they entered the busy marketplace. Zhao waved it away with a slow smile as he shouldered past the Earth Kingdom citizens and purposefully scanned the stalls. "You forget that we are the sons and daughters of Fire- we both wield the superior element. If they don't willingly cooperate with us..." His smile grew dark with anticipation, "Then I suppose we'll just have to convince them that it's in their best interest."

* * *

It was a commendable thing for Suki to have survived her first twenty four hours as a part of the group relatively unscathed, all things considered. In the time that it took for everyone to become settled for the evening, everyone realized that even though Suki was a fierce and brave warrior with unquestionable talent and loyalty, she was most certainly _not_ the most reliable when it came to doing things like preparing camp and cooking over an open fire. Sokka had the fortune to stumble upon a nesting pair of pheasantsquirrel in his quest for firewood, and as the girls got busy skinning and cleaning the animals the earth kingdom girl needed to be instructed on how to properly dress the creatures out. Even setting up the camp involved Katara doing the main work, with Suki watching and copying as best as she could.

As it was however, a lot of her initial hopes about traveling with the Avatar proved to come true, and after supper they traded stories, cracked jokes, and even sang a few songs as they lounged around the warmth of the campfire before bed. It was immensely interesting to hear about the South Pole, and see how refreshingly new and different their time honored stories and songs were from her own (She now had a deeper appreciation on the similarities as well- it turned out that their warriors painted their faces too). It was also interesting to spend the night next to Katara, and the two chatted for a long time after the fire dwindled down to a few bright bits of embers.

Now, after a stiff night's sleep and everyone had a quick wash up in the nearby frigid stream, the young Avatar dished out leftovers for breakfast while Sokka tried to convince the girls that there needed to be an established name and leader for their little group.

"I'm tellin' you!" He insisted enthusiastically around a mouthful of rice and pheasantsquirrel, "Now that we have three people (plus Aang), we need a good group name. Something catchy that reflects our awesomeness!"

Katara traded a dubious glance with Suki before raising a brow at Sokka over her mug of water. "Our 'awesomeness'?"

He shrugged and waved a hand. "Well, besides Suki, of course."

"Hey!"

The water tribe boy ignored her and tapped a finger on his (already nearly empty) plate and mulled it over. "I got it!" He perked up, "How about the 'Boomerang Squad'? See, it's perfect because it's got Aang in it!"

Katara glanced over at Aang as he rocked back on his heels and ran the name in his mind a few times, not quite understanding before bursting into a fit of laughter. _Boomer-Aang. _It was touching that Sokka thought to include him at all._"I kinda like that one." _He said, wiping tears of mirth away and still fighting off giggles.

"That's a ridiculous sounding name!" Katara protested, equal parts amused and dismayed that he would come up with it at all. She could just imagine her brother shouting something along the lines of "_Boomerang Squad, assemble!_" every time they got ready to break camp and fly.

Suki seemed to agree. "Why do we even need a name in the first place?" She wondered aloud, finishing off the last of her pheasantsquirrel and chewing thoughtfully. "Aren't we fine as we are?"

"Nope! We need a name. Your girly warriors have a group name, why can't we?"

Katara groaned, the matter suddenly making sense now. "Oh Sokka..."

Momo snagged a piece of meat from Katara's plate and perched himself on Sokka's head, sitting upright and swaying with every movement the water tribe boy made as he spoke, making the whole thing look even more comical. Sokka soldiered on. "No no, I'm on to something here! We should have a name. We can't go around calling ourselves 'The Group' or 'Us Kids On The Magical Ten Ton Monster'. How boring. What would the others think of us?"

Katara snorted, finally cracking a smile. "..._Others_?"

He threw his hands in the air in frustration, narrowly missing the lemur. "I don't know! Just... people. Even ourselves. _We. need. a. name_."

"Oh for goodness sake." She took his empty plate, and held out her hand for Suki's as well, stacking them in one arm while propping the other on her hip. "We don't need one, and we don't need a leader. We're _all_ doing things to make this work out."

Sokka dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "You're just saying that because you're mad that I'm the obvious choice for the job."

Aang tuned it out by then, already knowing where this conversation was going before it got there, and got up and walked over to Appa and started getting the already packed bags into the saddle. The others trailed behind him with the same intentions, chattering away about names and leaders and dirty dishes that needed to be washed before being packed up in the last bag, and generally sounding like a bunch kids on an epic road trip. The leadership/group name topic still continued however; even when they were all packed up and ready to go into the nearby town and get the supplies for a new tent, Sokka was _still_ insisting that he should be the leader, and as such he declined riding in the saddle and instead led the way into town himself. "We'll go in, get our stuff, and get out. If we're going to Omashu at all within two days time we can't stick around for long."

Suki rested her chin on her crossed arms as she looked down at him from the front lip of the saddle, smirking in ever growing amusement. "Lead on, o fearless leader."

He preened, missing the sarcasm altogether and relishing his new title. "I _am_ fearless, aren't I?" He whipped out his boomerang and grandly pointed it forward, intentionally lowering his voice so it wouldn't crack and ruin the manly effect. "Let us depart, Boomerang Squad!"

Katara smacked her forehead, and Suki sat back in disbelief. "He cannot be serious."

Aang snickered, feeling a little sorry for her. _"You have no idea."_

Katara just shook her head. "Oh Suki, just wait until we get to the marketplace."

* * *

The warrior girl saw just what Katara meant when they arrived five minutes later at the run down marketplace. Sokka strutted his way into town without breaking stride, and poor Appa did his best to follow the boy into the narrow lanes, grunting as he struggled to move past the first row stalls and the crush of people without knocking things over. Suki glanced down at him uncertainly. "Um... shouldn't Appa stay in the woods until we get back? I think he'll be too big to go with us the whole way."

Appa lowed, sounding almost offended, and Aang turned to him with an apologetic shrug. _"Sorry buddy, but she has a point. You probably wouldn't want to knock over all the stalls. We'd get into more trouble than the time Kuzon and I found those dragon eggs!"_

The ten ton bison was clearly disgruntled, but he blew out a huffy breath and did as he was told, backing up a few yards and settling down to wait patiently on the absolute outskirts of the market, where everyone would still be in view.

Suki carefully slid down from the saddle and landed with a puff of dust, calling for Sokka to wait for them as she dashed ahead, but Katara lingered for a moment by Aang's side after she gracefully airbent herself down. She recognized the reluctant look in his eyes as he looked at Appa, and she touched his shoulder. "Aang, maybe you want to stay put with Appa, just so people won't bother him?" She suggested kindly, "We won't take too long here at the market, and you'll be able to see us from here- with all these people dressed in green, you'd just have to look for the two spots of blue!"

He frowned a little as he thought about it, not at all pleased with the choice of leaving one or the other out of his immediate line of sight. What if something happened to the one while he looked after the other? "_Well..." _

"Come _on_, Katara!"

Sokka's distant, impatient shout from within the market made up Katara's mind. With a quick "We'll be back in just a minute!" She took off after her brother and Suki, not entirely certain if Aang had stayed put or not as she dodged a few people in her haste to catch up. She winced when she accidentally jostled an thin older man, sending his produce flying all over the place from the wheelbarrow he had been pushing. "Sorry!" she called over her shoulder, waving and dashing out of the way of the mess and merging into the crowd again while the man's cry of "My _cabbages_!" was lost in the murmuring bustle of the crowd.

Sokka was both relieved and annoyed all at once when she finally caught up with them a few lanes ahead. "Sheesh, Katara! I know you like chatting up your invisible friend, but we've got places to go and things to do! We have no time for- oooooh, are those roasted chickenlamb kebabs?"

His head swiveled to the right and he made a beeline to the vendor, his scolding completely forgotten in the face of hot rotisserie meat. Suki stared blankly at him for a moment. "...Okay, _now_ I understand what you meant earlier."

Katara rolled her eyes with long suffering amusement. "Speaking from experience, Sokka will be at that vendor for a little bit." She turned to look at the busy atmosphere of the Earth Kingdom market, scanning the nearby booths for what they needed. It didn't seem like there was any dry goods sold in this section at all. "Why don't I go on ahead over on the west side and look for some rope and a canvas? We'll get it done faster that way, and Sokka can romance his meat for a while longer without any interruptions."

Suki laughingly agreed, and it was due to that arrangement that Katara found herself on the side of the market closest to the docks, where the fishmongers and dry good dealers were most likely to be gathered. In her single minded pursuit for the things she was looking for, she didn't notice the Fire Nation ship that had caused ripples of disruption in the crowd surrounding her until she had purchased the canvas for the tent body. "One waterproof canvas, please."

The scrunched faced elderly woman running the stall snatched the coins away as soon as they landed on the rough pine plank counter, and she studied her suspiciously as she handed the canvas over. "You're water tribe, huh?" She noted with a hoarse rasp, leaning over the counter and looking her over thoroughly. It took everything in Katara not to instinctively recoil from the strong scent of tobacco and ripe 'unwashed old lady' that hung around the woman's fat, sagging frame like a toxic cloud. Her rheumy gray eyes darted upward to a point just above Katara's shoulder, and they narrowed as she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "My, but this is an unusual day. Fire Nation and Water Tribe all in the same morning! _Tch._ Whatever is our town coming to?"

Her eyes widening, Katara allowed the backhanded comment about her nationality to slide in favor of the more important bit of information. "Fire Nation? What do you mean?"

The woman pointed and Katara turned, only to back up with a sharp gasp when she saw the unmistakable hulking form of a Fire Nation ship anchored in the waters, dwarfing the little fishing boats beside it. Fear seemed to physically trickle through her body like ice water and pool painfully in her belly as she stared at the metal monstrosity that haunted many of her nightmares.

Surely... _surely_ they weren't here for _her_, were they?

_It doesn't matter if they are or not, _She thought, breaking the grip of fear enough to turn and run,_ I've got to warn the others and get us out of here!_

* * *

"Th-this is an outrage! How dare you march in here like you own the place and demand parts for your ship? This is not a colony that you can push around and bully. We are Earth Kingdom only!"

Though he exuded a lot of bravado, the skinny, middle aged dealer with the trailing Fu Manchu and spring green hat cried aloud and flinched away violently when Zhao casually held up his hand, cupping a sizable flame that flickered brightly. "I came here with a reasonable request, and I see the pistons we need are indeed here." He began evenly, enhancing the flames a bit and watching the man sweat with great enjoyment. "You can accept our money and go home to your family with your face still intact, or you can incur our wrath _and_ be sure we target this village the next time our fleet comes by. Your choice."

Trembling, the man backed away from the giant pistons in question and allowed the six burly engineers to look them over. It was only when Zhao received the nod of approval from the lead engineer that the two gold pieces were tossed onto the ground by the man's feet and the flames in his hand extinguished. _So pitifully easy. _"The Fire Lord thanks you for your cooperation." He smiled, relishing the helpless hatred stirring in the man's faded mud colored eyes before turning on his heel and leaving the engineers to their task while nodding for his first mate to follow. "You see, Lan Fan? It's places like these that we will clean up one day. Our empire will be a glorious thing to behold when we get rid of the weak and worthless like that man. Perhaps this port will be something to look at then."

She inclined her head indulgently. "Yes sir."

"Now that we have the parts we need, I want those engines repaired as quickly as-"

He trailed off, a blur of blue catching his eye as a figure ran full speed towards them, obviously not watching where they were going. He stepped out of the way and instinctively shot out an arm to grasp the person's wrist. With a sharp tug, he jerked the person backward with the intent to yell at them to watch where they were going; and when they fell in the dirt, stunned by the jarring force, he was startled to see it was a mere girl...

...a _water tribe_ girl?

Their mutual shock lasted a single, lasting moment, and it was only that moment he had a good look at her before the frightened girl lashed out. Zhao let out a startled cry when the girl's arms thrust out and caught him in the chest with a powerful blast of air that sent him flying back into the market, carving a pain-filled path through customers and merchandise alike before crashing into a nearby jewelry stand. Pandemonium instantly broke out among the surrounding crowd of villagers, and everyone ran for cover in a screaming mass as they dimly recognized that there was a fight going on and that there were fire nation soldiers involved.

Lan Fan only spared a single moment to stare in shock at the display of airbending before her arms sprang forward with a shout, fingers clawed and flames bursting forth in a brilliant plume that arched towards the girl.

Still stunned from her fall (and not daring to waste a moment thinking about what a terrible thing it was she had just done), Katara got to her feet and twisted out of the way in a loose spiral, and coming out of her spin her arms slashed forward in a punishing outward sweep. With a shriek the first mate was blown a good twenty yards away as Katara turned and dashed her way into the chaos of the panicking crowd, calling for Sokka and Suki as she weaved her way through the crush of terrified villagers.

"Sokka! Sokka, where are you?!"

_"Katara!"_

Suddenly, Aang appeared next to her, his expression hardened with fear and something else that Katara couldn't catch as he grasped her wrist and pulled her in the right direction. _"Come on, let's get out of here!"_

"What about Sokka and Suki?"

"_Don't worry,_ w_e'll find them once we get to Appa!"_

Bursting from the thinning crowd and the market limits, Katara and Aang ran towards the agitated bison, just as Sokka was pushing Suki up into the saddle. His eyes widened with relief when he spotted her. "Katara! Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I'm okay, but we've got to get out of here!" She let go of Aang's hand and vaulted up onto Appa's head, taking the reins and shouting 'yip yip' as soon as Sokka had swung himself up into the spot next to Suki. Momo curled around Appa's horn and screeched in confusion at the sudden departure, and as Katara looked back down, she spotted the two firebenders standing like a tiny island of red in a churning sea of green, staring up at them in stupefied shock.

Aang curled an arm around her as he peered down at the shrinking firebenders as well. _"What happened? Who were those guys?"_

Staring, Katara felt a shiver of foreboding when she realized that she had used airbending to ensure her getaway. It would only be a matter time before they figured out how in the world a water tribe girl could do that. "I... I don't know who they are. But I think they might know who_ I_ am."

* * *

Once Lan Fan shook off the stunning effects of being airbent at and picked herself up, Zhao was already making his way over to her, picking off pieces of jewelry from his armor and staring up at the fleeing skybison with an inscrutable expression before shaking himself. "Come, we have work to do."

Lan Fan obediently fell into line as they walked at a fast clip back up to the ship, her mind working to catch up to the seemingly ordinary sounding order. "_Work_, sir? What about that girl?"

Zhao breathed a sigh through his nose impatiently. "We have our parts we need, and I want both engines to be in working condition as soon as humanly possible. As for that water tribe girl..." He trailed off thoughtfully, looking one last time at the speck in the distance before smiling to himself. "I believe I have a few letters to send."

* * *

**Author's Note:** There were tons of rather sizable cut scenes from this chapter (six of them to be exact!), so hopefully it reads okay and your aren't too mad that I seem to have a track record of one chapter a month. There were a lot of things I wanted to do with this chapter, and I'm afraid it would have gotten too long winded if I didn't cut what I did. A real shame, since I had some great lines regarding Aang watching the others devour meat for supper.

Since there will be questions, I'm going to take a preemptive strike and answer a few before they are asked.

1: As one reviewer asked, yes, there are bits and pieces of canon events and even lines that are cut and rearranged for the purpose of the story. Katara, as the Avatar, will be going to different places and making different decisions than Aang had in canon, and therefor there are going to be things that are wildly different and/or seem out of order. However, that doesn't mean I can't add certain things that are from canon, and Sokka's boomerang squad line was just too good to leave alone.

2: Yes, I made the First Mate a woman. No, she is _not_ Zhao's bed warmer. Don't bother getting that in your mind. She's wholly committed to her job, and Zhao is married to his own ego, and cake. No romance there at all, and there never will be.

3: More to come on Earth Kingdom prejudices in the future. The Fire Nation may be the most prejudiced of all, but I get the feeling that the Earth Kingdom doesn't think much of the Water Tribes, and I want to explore that a bit more later on.

4: Yes, Zhao's made the connection, and now he knows that she could easily be the Avatar. Bad news for her, but it was a while in coming.

5: Just to clarify for one reviewer, no, Sokka is not angry, nor does he have anger issues. He's just being his sarcastic, easily annoyed self.

6: Hush, Zuko is coming soon, just be patient.


End file.
